I'm Not Missing You
by valentine999
Summary: Miho, OC , was part of team seven under Kakashi and best friends with Sasuke when they were kids. But then Shippuuden begins and it seems that Akatsuki are after her. After much thought it is indeed ItachiXOCxSasuke, the weirdest love-triangle.
1. Chapter 1

_Ok, so I put this story up about a year ago but didn't really like it because it's not what I usually write about. BUT, I'm putting it back up because, well, I wanna give it another go. There's just a few things you need to know before you read the story:_

_-Miho is pronounced Mee-ho but not as harsh as hoe. Additional member of Team 7.  
_

_-Miho belongs to the clan of Aomori, and their bloodline limit is a secret! She's the last of her clan, they all died in a war when she was a baby and she lives in a big house with one servant in Konoha._

_-Miho and sasuke were best friends when they were kids. __She was just as close to Itachi; when she and Sasuke trained and she'd over exert herself Itachi would give her a piggy back ride, just like he did for Sasuke _

_-When the Uchiha clan got murdered Sasuke grew cold and distant which Miho got used to after a while, she just became part of the background for Sasuke, but he would always seek her company compared to anyone else's. _

_-It starts at the beginning of shippuuden. (I've given it the same beginning so you get it)._

_-Through out you'll be given hints to what her bloodline limit is- see if you can guess!

* * *

-10 years ago-_

"Too slow!" Sasuke shouted as he jumped from a high branch of a tree to the ground, turning with a triumphant smile. The smile was wiped from his face as a shuriken went straight through the side of his shirt, pinioning him to a tree. He was so shocked he didn't even try to yank it out of his shirt.

"You were saying?" He looked up with a dazed expression and saw Miho sitting on a low branch in front of him, a shuriken swinging from her hand. It was the beginning of spring and the cherry blossoms had not yet fully opened. Sasuke smirked.

"You'll never beat me." Another shuriken shot to the side of his head. He was shocked for a moment; she was so fast he hadn't seen her move.

"You wanna say that one more time?" She jumped down and walked over to him with her hands on her hips as he pulled the shuriken out of his shirt; he opened his mouth to retaliate.

"What're you two doing here?" They both jumped and looked around.

"Nii-chan!" Sasuke ran to embrace his brother who picked him up and placed him on his back. Miho scowled and tapped Itachi's hip so he'd look down to her.

"I was just about to beat him!" The older boy smiled; she was the only girl he was ever scared of, even if she was just five years old.

"Oh…training." Itachi looked down at Miho and then up at Sasuke who had his nose in the air.

"You were not! I had her nii-chan! You should've seen-"

"You did not!" Miho yelled back, Sasuke bent over Itachi's shoulder so that he and Miho were eye level, causing Itachi to stoop. Miho gasped and went to hit Sasuke who retaliated in the same way so after a moment they were simply slapping each other's arms. Hardly a ninja duel. Itachi rolled his eyes.

"Whoa now you two." Itachi said coolly, trying to pull Sasuke back up, out of the way of Miho's arms. "Why don't you start again, I can watch and tell you where you're going wrong. Just so long as Sasuke doesn't mind you beating him again Miho." Miho smiled up at the boy she'd come to see like a big brother while Sasuke pouted in the background.

"That's fine by me. Sasuke?" Itachi and Miho looked round to him, he looked at them both and rolled his eyes.

"Fine, whatever." And so they took their positions on either side of a clearing in the woods, Itachi hid in the shadow of a tree, as he leant against the trunk, he watched both of their movements carefully; ready to move in case one of them got hurt. Sasuke smirked in that usual way before battle and Miho flicked her hair away from her face. They began.

It was just like their other fights Itachi had watched, though he had to admit their speed and strength had increased. Miho's foot movement was far better than Sasuke's but he made up for this with raw power. Then it happened.

Miho left herself open for attack and Sasuke kicked her hard in the chest. She went flying back into the woods, trying to gasp for breath but found she couldn't. Itachi came out of the shadows just in case she was seriously hurt. As he walked passed Sasuke he gave him a stern look but then softened as Sasuke ran after Miho, looking genuinely concerned.

They found her a little way off but were too shocked to go and help her. She had indeed hit a tree as the boys feared but as they looked at her now…it was unreal. The tree she had fallen into was wrapping its bark around her body, Sasuke could see her arms and legs begin to turn to wood. There were no trees like that in this wood.

"I have never seen a tree blossom so fast," Itachi whispered and Sasuke looked up, he could see now a process that would take weeks go on in mere seconds; the flowers on the tree blossomed in moments, but they weren't average flowers, both boys could see small sparks erupt from the flowers as they bloomed.

The boys were brought out of their thoughts when Miho spoke something softly. It seemed as if she was still unconscious but her mouth moved of its own accord. Slowly her body seemed to melt away from the tree and Itachi caught her before she hit the ground.

"Nii-chan, what happened?" Sasuke looked fearfully to the tree and back to Miho.

"I don't know, but we should get Miho somewhere she can rest. Maybe she can tell us when she wakes up." So Itachi cradled the young girl in his arms as they made their way home. Sasuke looked back to the only blossomed tree in the wood. And for some strange reason, Itachi did not tell his younger brother, he knew _exactly _what had happened, what Miho had done, and why, for the rest of eternity, that tree would always flower first.

* * *

_-present day-_

"Naruto, is that you?" Naruto, Jiraiya and Sakura turned to look at a girl running down the street towards them. Jiraiya's jaw dropped to the floor.

"Who is that? Love of my life!"

"BAKA!" Naruto hit his sensei on the head. For some reason he'd always been a little over protective of Miho.

"Miho-san!" Sakura ran to embrace her friend, "you've changed." Sakura appraised her friend; her long black hair was even longer now, down to her hips, she had tied it with a ribbon though a few curls fell loose. Her light green eyes seemed darker now, but they still contrasted alarmingly with her dark skin. The two girls turned back to a now open mouthed Naruto, Jiraiya now knowing his place.

"BAKA!" Sakura punched Naruto full on the face, sending him sprawling back into a wall.

"Sakura-san!" Miho shouted.

"That's right…only Miho cares…" Naruto mumbled.

"You're skills have improved!" Miho shouted as Naruto's face fell.

"Yeah! Sensei…Hokage-sama has been training me!"

"No way! So you're a full medic ninja now?"

"Yeah..." And so the girls erupted into full blown conversation about the past two years, forgetting about the chaos cause by the people of Konoha at night.

"Why does everyone forget about me?" Naruto sniffled in the background.

"Because you're still a genin." Everyone turned around again and saw Shikamaru spoke from behind Temari.

"Shikamaru! Temari!" Naruto jumped up again at the sight of old comrades. "What do you mean, I'm still a genin-" Shikamaru rolled his eyes.

"Everyone else in our age group is a Chunin now, Neji's a jounin."

"WHAT?" Naruto's face fell and he looked to what was left of team 7, "even…sakura-san…miho-san?" The two smiled at him broadly.

"Yep!" Sakura smiled at him and Miho laughed at the look on his face. Naruto seemed to take this information in, and then something else dawned on him.

"Gaara! What about Gaara?!" He looked hopefully at Temari and Shikamaru. They both smiled but there was something in the way Temari giggled that made him suspicious.

"Why don't you ask his girlfriend?" Temari smiled to someone behind Naruto while he turned, wide eyed, to Sakura and Miho.

"Wha…wha…" he muttered at Sakura who shook her head and pointed to Miho who smiled guiltily. "MIHO! What? I always thought you'd end up with…" his voice trailed off, they all knew who's name he would say but it was evident _that _dream was over.

"No, no. it's nothing like that between me and Gaara," she said reassuringly while adding in a whisper, "Temari I'm going to kill you."

"Yeah, yeah whatever." Temari shook her head.

"Anyway," Miho turned back to Naruto, "Gaara is kazakage now."

"WHAT!? What the heck has happened during the past two and a half years?!" Naruto put his hands to his ears and shook his head, as though wanting to hear no more.

"Sorry to interrupt!" Someone shouted and the group jumped, "but I'm afraid we have to hurry to Tsunade-sama now." Jiraiya said as he popped out of the shadows.

* * *

­Miho lay on her belly under a bush, going through the same mental checks she had the last time they did this. She wasn't hurt, she had no idea where Naruto or Sakura were and she couldn't see Kakashi. Great. But this time she wasn't going to lose. She could hear the jingle of the bells near by and cursed, this is not what she thought of when the Hokage told her and her team mates that they'd be training.

All the while Miho was trying to pinpoint the sound she had another feeling. An ominous feeling connected to some place far off, perhaps Suna?…She wasn't quite sure. Her thoughts were broken as she heard Naruto yell at the top of his voice before lunging at Kakashi, she could see them both now in a clearing. A strange feeling of reminisce came over her as she saw an already blossomed tree; it was too early for the flowers to have bloomed. She came back to reality. _One not so strong point to Naruto; he never quite mastered the element of surprise. _Kakashi easily evaded and destroyed Naruto's kage bunshin and all was quiet. _Well, it's now or never. _

She jumped out of the bush and attacked Kakashi from behind; luckily he had taken a quick rest after his encounter with Naruto. But Miho wasn't so easily fooled; Kakashi would never rest in such as open space, she was ready so that as soon as she defeated the replication she could fight the hiding Kakashi. She was right.

As soon as she attacked the replication Kakashi came out of the shadows and attacked her. Miho was lucky she was fast, she evaded him and they were quickly involved in close hand-to-hand combat. Naruto and Sakura silently cheered on their team mate from the shadows, while being slightly jealous at the new speed and strength she had mastered. No doubt Gaara had given her extra lessons. Kakashi took out a shuriken from his jacket and thrust it at the girl to get her to move away. But she didn't, she stood there and all onlookers gasped as the shuriken stuck in her body, Kakashi was dumbfounded.

"Why didn't you move, or block?" He had always favoured Miho as a student but this time he could not understand her stupidity. His hand was still on the shuriken and he let go; not wanting to hurt her anymore. But then he relaxed as he saw water escape the gash he had made underneath the shuriken. "Miho where did you learn to create a water bunshin?" Miho did not reply. Time trickled past as the replication took the shuriken out of her chest. Everyone waited for the bunshin to disintegrate. Kakashi could see that her wound had water dripping from it, in fact it was a hole comprised of water. Silent seconds went on. The replication did not crumble.

"Are you going to attack or not?" Miho said with a smile.

* * *

**_Anyone figured out what her bloodline limit is?_**

**_Oh go on, guess!_**

**_Oh and review it. REVIEW IT NOW!_**

_^ Is what I wrote all those years ago…for those of you who read my stuff probably realise this IS really different from what I usually write. Hopefully someone likes it!_


	2. Chapter 2

**Hello! I would like to share something with you all. It's a WARNING. Basically, I will never be cool enough to write full lemons BUT this fic will be kind of zesty. I just thought I'd warn you in case you were like…_oh this is sweet, I think…what is this?! _Let me just say one thing to explain what I mean:**

**You know Orochimaru gets Miho first, well- he _uses _her as a _present _to keep Sasuke happy…(add zesty-ness here) DO YOU GET WHAT I MEAN?! But hopefully it'll end up more like a deep spiritual connection between the two…LOL.**

**So please don't read on if you don't like that stuff.

* * *

**Miho moved fast, taking out two short daggers from her side, they were thin as sticks but sharp as anything and they swiped Kakashi's chest. He skidded backwards in time to dodge her attack but still managed to get a small graze on his chest, he cursed softly. Looking up at her he could see that the wound in her chest was gone; presumably she had switched with the water clone, but that didn't explain why the clone didn't disintegrate.

A few more minutes of hand-to-dagger combat ensued; Kakashi marvelled at how much she had grown. Eventually he could see her getting tired, her attacks were becoming less effective. He had decided enough was enough and landed a hit straight into her stomach, she jumped away slightly to avoid the worst damage but the blow was still powerful and she was thrown back into the woods. She did not emerge again, Kakashi walked away.

"What the hell happened? What was that?" Tsunade asked Shizune from their hidden place in the woods.

"I have no idea-"

"So it wasn't a clone?" Jiraiya came into view, also looking puzzled.

"No, it would've disintegrated immediately after being hit." Shizune replied.

"You don't think she's…mastered her bloodline?" The hokage seemed deeply troubled by this and rubbed the back of her neck as she thought about it.

"If she has, it would explain a lot." Jiraiya rested against a tree, thinking. He left the two women to ponder over what he had said until Tsunade snapped.

"What would it explain Jiraiya?" Tsunade grew impatient with him.

"It seems her old master is after her again-"

"You don't mean-"

"That's exactly who I mean."

"But why?" The Hokage turned to Jiraiya sharply and the man shrugged.

"Let's ask her shall we?" He said and folded his arms as Tsunade put a hand to her chin and tilted her gaze to the floor so she could decide on what to do.

"Shizune, after this, bring them all to my office-"

"Are you not going to watch?"

"No," the blonde Hokage turned and began to walk away, ", I'm going to find out more information on what the bloodline technique of the Aomori clan is." She stopped and turned back, "I mean was. Well, maybe _is, _if she's really mastered it." She left the other two, watching the rest of the battle in darkness.

"So they finally got you, Kakashi?" Tsunade smiled up at the man from her desk who hung is head.

"I can't believe I fell for such a foolish trick." Kakashi whispered, still shocked at the way his students had beaten him. Tsunade smiled and reached over to Shizune who handed a rolled up piece of parchment to her. Her eyes skimmed the letters and as she read on her smile faded.

"There's no time to dwell on this; there's much to discuss." She handed the paper back to Shizune, "Gaara of the sand has been taken by members of Akatsuki. "At this there was an outcry to go and save him to which Tsunade raised her hand in acknowledgement. "In due time, but first I wish to speak to Miho and Kakashi alone, Jiraiya stay please."

"Hey, what?" Naruto shouted at her, but Sakura put a hand on his shoulder to stop him and he was silent. They both walked out of her office and Saukra leant on the wall outside, and Naruto stood in the middle of the hall. "What's going on? We need to get to Gaara. Damn Akatsuki!" He punched the wall with such force a framed picture nearby fell to the floor and the glass cracked.

"Calm down Naruto!" Sakura said sternly, "didn't you see what happened during Miho's fight with Kakashi-sensei? That wasn't normal. Something's up." They looked at each other and then scrambled to the door so they could listen in.

Tsunade sighed and leant forwards. "Miho, as curious as I am to ask what that technique was you demonstrated earlier," at this Miho smiled innocently, "there are more pressing matters at hand." Jiraiya got up as Tsunade gestured to him.

"As we already know Akatsuki are after the jinchuuriki like Naruto and now they've gone after Gaara." Kakashi and Miho nodded, this was old news and they were growing impatient with the lack of action to get to the Kazekage. "But it's recently come to my attention that they're after Miho."

"Why?" Kakashi suddenly asked, "She's not a jinchuuriki!" Kakashi rubbed the spot where her dagger's scratched him.

"We were hoping Miho could tell us," Tsunade looked to the girl, "your old master is searching for you." Miho looked shocked for a moment before whispering his name.

"Itachi…sama?"

* * *

_-10 years ago-_

A few days had passed since the incident in the wood and Miho sat outside Sasuke's house, waiting for him to return with his mother and father. She was unsure of whether or not Itachi-san was home but chose not to find out in case he was training inside. She knew he was the kind of man that didn't like to be disturbed while training. There was a seven year age gap between her and Itachi but sometimes the common link they had; a desire to train and become strong, meant that the gap was almost unrecognisable. Her thoughts were interrupted as the front gate opened; she stood, anticipating Sasuke's return. The person who stepped through was not Sasuke, even though he did look like him, he looked at her and smiled.

"Miho-chan, waiting for Sasuke?" She nodded to him and he sighed, "I don't think he's going to be back for a while." Itachi removed his cloak and sat next to the girl on the wooden veranda. They sat in silence, there wasn't much to say, though both were thinking the same thing. "Miho-chan," Itachi broke the peaceful silence, "what happened that day?" Miho avoided his eyes, she had no idea what had happened. In truth she didn't come here to see Sasuke, but thought Itachi would know what she should do. "You have a strange power," he hesitated before putting an arm around her, "I can teach you to control it-"

"Teach me, really?" her light green eyes appraised his dark ones and she was suddenly reminded of his resemblance to Sasuke but there was something, almost another darkness, in his eyes that Sasuke did not have.

"Yes, on one condition."

"What?"

"Don't tell Sasuke." For a moment she was going to agree but then took in what he said.

"Why shouldn't I tell Sasuke?" as she said this Itachi considered her feelings towards his younger brother. There is no age limit to love, he knew that because you can grow to love another father as Miho had demonstrated with his father and he knew she loved Sasuke very much. But what kind of love was it? Was she too young to understand that love between a girl and a boy, or was it simply sibling love?

"I'm only helping you because if you don't have control you could seriously hurt yourself. Sasuke is always asking for my help, he wouldn't understand, if I explained it would just upset him." Itachi looked down at the girl, "what do you say?"

"Yes! Itachi…sama!" Miho looked thrilled at the chance to train properly and with someone as elite as her new master, she was sure to go far.

"Onii-chan! Miho-chan!" They both turned to see Sasuke running in front of his parents up to Miho and his older brother. He ran up to them both and stood, looking expectantly from one to the other. As Sasuke's parents approached both Itachi and Miho stood, it was odd how the girl had a sudden new found affection for her teacher. Itachi nodded to his parents before entering the house.

"Are you staying for dinner Miho?" Sasuke's mother looked down at her and Sasuke grabbed her hand.

"Yeah stay Miho! I'll show you something dad taught me!" Miho nodded at Sasuke who began to run, dragging her with him.

"Make sure you're home before dinner!" They heard a shout behind them.

* * *

_-present day-_

"Miho, what talent do you possess that he wants so much?" Kakashi turned to his student.

"I…I have no idea." She shook her head, trying to deny to even herself that a part of her, a tiny part, would give anything to see him again. "We can talk about this later. Right now we should be helping Suna." Miho stood to leave and her elders nodded their consent.

Outside the door Naruto and Sakura had been listening in. Neither knew that Itachi, Sasuke's older brother had trained Miho as a child, Sasuke had never mentioned it but then again, he had never said much about his past. They both looked uncertainly at each other before retreating as the door opened. Miho came out, leaving her teacher and others inside.

"I take it you heard everything?" Naruto and Sakura knew not to lie to their friend and nodded.

"We had no idea Itachi trained you." Sakura said uncertainly.

"Neither does Sasuke."

"What?" Naruto exclaimed before he realised they were not ready to delve deeper into the conversation.

"We have to go. I need to make sure Gaara's ok."

"Miho-san." Sakura said shyly, "when you were in the sand village training-"

"Exactly how close did you get to Gaara?" Naruto finished for his friend. Miho had started to walk away but now turned back to them, her green eyes flashed and she smiled.

"You haven't…you know," Sakura paused as though uncertain, "fallen in love with him?" Naruto had been wondering this too, ever since their encounter with Temari, but the situation made him uncomfortable. In the past Miho and Sasuke had always seemed so close, it was odd that Miho should be in love with someone else…almost as if she was cheating on Sasuke. But that made no sense. It was strange that Naruto always thought the two would work out their differences.

"He loved you," Naruto said suddenly and both Sakura and Miho were shocked because Naruto sounded angry and as they looked at him they saw he was looking to the floor and his hands were curled into fists. No one needed to ask who he was talking about.

"If he loved me he wouldn't have left." Miho said simply and looked to Sakura whose cheeks had turned slightly pink. It was common knowledge there was a connection between Miho and Sasuke and even though many girls, like Sakura, pursued him, he would always remain distant from them because of Miho.

"Don't you love him anymore?" Naruto asked and Miho clicked her tongue with impatience.

"Look, Naruto, Sakura," Miho nodded to the girl, "I know you want to find him…save him. But for me, he's beyond saving." Naruto was about to retaliate when Miho shouted at him, "Sasuke is lost to me!" Her team mates stood in shock at her sudden outburst and she blushed; she never usually got this angry about anything. "Sasuke died a long time ago," she continued in a whisper, no longer looking directly at Naruto, "before he left, when _they _were murdered." Miho's eyes misted over, "I don't love him, nor do I miss him, because I've endured greater pain." Her voice broke and for some reason Naruto felt ashamed for shouting at her, "you both simply feel the pain of loss, of him not being here," she wiped her eyes hurriedly, "but I had to watch as he slowly faded, grew colder, but he still remained here. Do you know how hard that is?" Naruto too blinked away tears now for he'd never seen her so upset, "do you have the remotest idea of what it is like to smile at a person you loved, knowing they're not that person anymore?" It was a difficult pain to describe so she gave up, "I hate him." She said simply and turned to walk away. Naruto and Sakura stood in silence.

"He was a good person," Naruto said and Sakura looked up to him; was he reassuring himself? "Wasn't he, Sakura?" He asked and she looked away, "He loved her," Naruto sniffed and wiped his eyes with his arm, "he loved her!" He shouted down the corridor.

* * *

**Tip of the angsty ice-berg that was :)**

**Reviews appreciated!**

_Also, also, also. My friend Ember wrote such an awesome oneshot about Sasuke killing Itachi, pairing is SasukexItachi but SLIGHT. I'm not into that pairing at all but this story is seriously good. ANGSTY! Please read it (you can get to her profile through mine) and review with a threat for her to write more!_


	3. Chapter 3

**Here's a nice little flashback/break from the main present story for you all. Enjoy!

* * *

**_The night before Sasuke left_

Miho had fallen asleep a few hours ago, fallen into troubled dreams of what he had said that day, dreams of what could have been. He had always been so cold but today his stuttering words at breakfast told her he was trying to get closer. But why? It was sad that whenever he simply tried to talk to her she never thought it was for the sake of friendship; it was either about a mission or nothing in particular. This time, however, it was different; there was a sadness she couldn't quite make out. Miho lay soundlessly on her bed, the world stood so still you could hear just the beating of her heart as she slept, bathed in silver moonlight that poured in through her open window.

Then something was pulling her out of her dreams. She opened her eyes slowly as she felt someone pulling at her night dress, trying to turn her around. Before she let her eyes adjust to the darkness she was turned around sharply and gasped as a mere inch from her face Sasuke was above her, his dark eyes staring intently into hers. Neither said anything but for some reason her breathing deepened as he moved his lips so close to hers but did nothing. He too was breathing deeply as though he'd run to her, but more than that, it was almost as if he was nervous. She stared up at him in confusion and her eyes skimmed his face, searching for what used to be there.

Sasuke stared back with equal confusion; he had forgotten, in all this time, how to show her affection and it frustrated him. How did he show her that she meant more to him than even his own life? How did he let her know how sorry he was for doing this to her? He closed his eyes and breathed deeply, breathing in her scent, her essence. He just wanted to be as close to her as possible and so they lay in the moonlight, waiting for someone to make the first move.

It took Miho a moment to realise his hands were on hers and she glanced down to see his fingers digging into her skin. She looked back up and her eyes searched his face, looking for some reason, a reason as to why he was doing this. But before she got a chance he sat up on the bed and dragged her up into a sitting position where, without a word, his hands brushed hair from her forehead and went to her cheeks. He held her face in his hands and felt a knot form in his stomach as he saw silent tears fall from her eyes. As they streamed down her cheeks he moved close to her and took a breath, almost as a form of gathering courage, before he kissed them to stop them falling further.

He drew back, on my an inch, to see her reaction and it was simply one of confusion, he had changed so much she couldn't even tell what he wanted. Moving his hands down her neck and to her shoulders he felt her shiver. They looked to each other one last time for some form of reassurance. In a moment Sasuke moved his hands to the back of her nightdress where he untied the ribbon there as she removed his shirt. Once done they put their foreheads together, and were breathing deeply after their frenzied movements.

"I love you," she whispered.

"I need you," he replied before kissing her collar bone.

* * *

Once sunlight chased the moonlight from her room and morning called her to wake up, Miho opened her eyes. She lay still for a while, smiling at the thought of the night time that had just passed. Was it a dream? No. No dream could be so wonderful. She brushed hair from her forehead and turned around to face Sasuke.

"Sasuke?" She murmured and pulled the white bed sheet down and then threw it off of her frantically. He was not there. "Sasuke?" She called a little louder; hoping he would emerge from some shadow. She looked around the room, her panic causing her to miss on first glance, his lone figure at the window. He sat on the window ledge and she gasped in relief. She smiled but it soon faded as there was a menacing, threatening way in which he stood up, his dark hair covered his eyes and his breathing was shallow.

"Miho," he spoke her name in more of a sob than a whisper; she had not heard him like this since that day.

"No," she stood up, holding the bed sheet close to her body and dragging it across the floor as she walked to him. She smoothed the hair away from his face with one hand and held the blanket to her body with the other. "No," she said again but she didn't even know what she was disagreeing to; it was just that, the way he was acting. The way he spoke, meant he was leaving her again. "Don't," she sobbed and put her head against his chest, but as she did she noticed he did not hold her, there was no response from him. Her sobbing stopped as she knew he had made up his mind; he'd always been so selfish. She shook her head at him and her bottom lip trembled but she did not crumble. She just looked him determinedly in the eye for a few seconds, before the back of her hand met his face. She struck him hard across his right cheek and the sound echoed throughout the room. "Get out." She said hoarsely and fell to the floor. There she kneeled and did not look at him but turned her head away. He knelt down beside her and leant into her ear so he put his forehead against the side of her head and his nose brushed her cheek. She tried with all the strength he'd left in her not to turn to him and kiss him goodbye, for his lips were close to hers.

"Thank you," he said softly and then took a deep, shuddering breath. "For hating me," she turned her head further away but he took hold of her hair and forced her to keep the position, it hurt but she wasn't going to let him know that. "It makes it easier for us to part." _No Sasuke, _Miho thought as her eyes filled with cold tears again, _it's just easier for you to leave, because it's only ever yourself that you've cared about. _She winced from the pain.

"Fuck off." She said simply and he too found it difficult not to cry, she could feel his body shaking as his lips brushed her cheek for the last time. She did not look, for watching was too painful, as he went to the window ledge, glanced back, and jumped out of her life. She sat there for a long while, staring into nothingness, wondering what the hell had happened. Her servant found her a few minutes later and for a while she didn't speak, she didn't eat, she just thought. It went on for a few days, doctors said she was showing signs of grief, but what did any of them ever know? She was excused from missions, her sensei came to see her but when he talked she did not respond. Everyone mourned over the loss of Sasuke but she was done missing him and a new, more powerful feeling was rising up inside of her. Something was twisting her thoughts of him until she finally realised how much she truly hated him. He abandoned her when their family died and he'd come back to her, and for once, she was happy. But now, to abandon her again, to give her such heartbreak was unforgivable. And she vowed that she would carry on the task of her old teacher, of Itachi, she would kill the last of the Uchiha clan.

* * *

Thinking about it now, as they walked through the desert that bordered Suna, she remembered that moment her soul was engulfed by retribution. If she had told anyone, Naruto, Sasuke, Kakashi…anyone, they would have told her it was merely her emotions getting the better of her but she knew she'd find him again. Before Naruto and the others found him, she'd make him feel the same hurt. They could see the outline of Suna peeking over the horizon now, she had to save Gaara. Well, she'd have to do one mission at a time.

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**If you like it- review it! **


	4. Chapter 4

**Sorry, it's been a while!**

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**_-A few days later, after they saved Gaara-_

Miho was stood in the Kazekage's office; Gaara had asked her to stay behind for a few moments. It had only been a few hours since he had been revived and Miho was secretly amazed at his strength; he had, almost immediately, gone back to work. They were going to the funeral in two hours but now Miho stood, looking out of the window of his office, but it was pitch black outside so really she was staring back at her own reflection.

"Miho," he said softly from his desk and she did not turn around, she said nothing in return because she knew why she was here, why he had called for her. Naruto had expressed a desire to go after Sasuke; they had news of his whereabouts. The only trouble was Miho wanted to stay here with the Kazekage and train some more but Naruto wanted her there. Poor Naruto, she smiled, he was so naïve; thinking Miho gave a damn about people besides herself. "They are going for Sasuke." He said plainly and she sighed, her breath misting up the glass in front of her. "Will you go?" She shrugged even though she felt slightly guilty; Gaara had been isolated since childhood and she had become very close to him in the past years, teaching him the art of friendship and love and now, she was about to tell him she cared for no one. "Did you," his voice faltered, "love him?" She glanced up to his reflection in the window and saw he was stood beside his desk now, a look of interest and anticipation etched on his face.

"I did," she turned to him, "once. A long time ago." He lowered his gaze and searched for another question.

"Is it easy…to fall out of love?" She almost smiled; Gaara's confusion often amused her and she shook her head.

"It's the most difficult thing in the world." He nodded even though she could tell from the way his fingers fiddled with the corner of a page of a book on his desk, that he really didn't understand. "I must go," she said quickly and Gaara opened his mouth to call out and stop her but said nothing as the coldness in her eyes left him. When she put her hand on the handle of the door he spoke again.

"Will you go for him?" He asked once more and Miho's brow furrowed.

"Forgive me," she whispered, "for confusing you Kazekage," her grip on the door handle increased and she could hear a small crack form in the metal, "but if I ever saw Sasuke again," she cocked her head back to Gaara, "I'd kill him." She left.

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Suna was lighting up. The villagers were lighting lanterns and candles in respect for the dead that saved the life of their Kazekage. There was an atmosphere of jubilation and melancholy but Miho wanted nothing to do with it. She stood, leaning against a building on the outskirts of the village, only a lone palm tree and the first twinkling of stars were her company. She was thinking about what to do; should she go to find Sasuke? But then there was a small part of her that reminded her she was beginning to become him; engulfed by the hate of a loved one, vowing to seek revenge and it was tearing her apart. The more she though about it, the less she was herself; she was changing, everyone knew it. Team 7 was breaking beyond repair because she, like her childhood sweetheart, didn't give a fuck. It was eating at her insides; should she remain the good, loyal, virtuous person they knew her as, or should she, like a murderous, sneak back to her lover and destroy him? She closed her eyes and titled her head back, letting the slow desert breeze cool her as she drowned in her thoughts.

"The more you think, the worse it gets." She snapped her eyes open. She knew that voice, of course she did, but no, it couldn't be. "The more you dwell on it, the more it hurts." No. It couldn't be him- "and the more you pine for someone, the further away they seem." Slowly, for fear of losing her mind, she moved her head to face the person in front of her and indeed, her fears were confirmed. An older, colder and more familiar version of Sasuke stood in front of her. Her old teacher had found her.

"Ita…" she couldn't even bring herself to speak his name but she knew in an instant she just wanted him to hold her. She took a step forwards; throwing all previous thoughts out of her mind.

"Miho-chan," he said softly and stood forwards. Itachi looked at the young girl he once knew; she was no longer young, in fact she was a woman. It was almost as if he was meeting the mother, or perhaps the older sister, of his former student. He had always known she'd end up pretty but never beautiful; she was the girl people would look at twice but then think nothing of it. But to him, she was beautiful, because her prettiness was simply the physical aspects of her tanned skin, light green eyes and curvaceous body but the beauty was far greater. In her eyes was a harsh malice which rendered her almost sadistic in a wondrous way and for the first time, he thought of Miho in a different light. No longer the timid little girl, but a woman who, if provoked, could kill most men in a heartbeat. He liked it. Miho was about to take another step when a fierce wind blew in the desert and sand was sprayed in their eyes, Miho covered her eyes with her arms and, amidst the sudden sandstorm felt the soft caress of hair licking her harms and face. The sandstorm stopped as soon as it had come and Miho lowered her arms, looking up she gasped and backed into the wall of the building behind her. The hair that had been tasting her flesh belonged to the man in front of her.

"Orochimaru," Itachi said quietly and the other man laughed softly, keeping his eyes away from Itachi's. The man named Orochimaru looked over to Miho who froze, just like when they had met in the Chunin exam, in the wood, she was paralysed by fear. He reached out a hand to her chin and she did nothing, just stared wide-eyed at the man that had taken Sasuke from her. "What brings you here?" Itachi said coolly.

"Just a rare desert flower," Orochimaru said and licked his lips with a tongue that had always disgusted Miho.

"As am I." Itachi said quickly as Orochimaru looked at Miho hungrily with a small glint in his eye that kept her motionless. Miho looked deep into her old masters eyes and was upset to think she still found comfort there. The desert breeze blew Orochimaru's hair in front of her face and she looked to him as he smiled.

"Too slow." Keeping his eyes on Itachi's feet as to avoid any curse his eyes could give, Orochimaru held out his hand and from the ground snakes erupted, forming a barrier between Miho and Itachi.

"Miho-kun!" She saw Itachi stretch a hand out and move towards her, she held out her hand and yelled out for him.

"Itachi-sama!" The snakes encased Miho and Orochimaru into a box of darkness. Miho turned to him and suddenly she placed a hand on his face and another on his stomach and slowly their bodies were moving together. Her hands were melting into his flesh; Orochimaru yelled out and bent down quickly. He could hear Miho scream as he sank his teeth into her flesh, her warm blood filled his mouth and her body went limp. Slowly their bodies separated and she fell into his arms. He kept his mouth clamped onto her neck, enjoying the movement of her shuddering beneath him. He soon released his teeth from her flesh and let his tongue wipe the blood from her body as it had travelled down her arms.

"Don't worry, Miho-kun. You'll be reunited with an old friend soon."

The dark box made of snake-like vines disappeared from the desert.

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There was a pounding in Miho's head that was driving her to the brink of insanity; she could feel the blood dripping down her neck and mixing with the glistening sweat that reflected like gold in the candlelight. Her hands and legs were bound in front of her; the rough, itchy rope scratched and burnt her skin as she tried to free herself. She sat against a wall, hidden in her own world of darkness for she was blindfolded. She tried desperately to hear what was going on around her but in the hideout there was nothing stirring. The gag around her mouth stopped her from shouting and even there the gag, in some knife like action, felt as though it were slitting her lips. It was too hot for her to even try to sleep; the air was so humid her breathing was heavy and the added loss of blood meant she was beginning to feel light headed. She was brought from the edge of sleep by the sound of a door dragging against the floor. She whipped her head around in the direction she knew it was coming from. She knew as a trained Chunin she should not be scared, that she should be ready for anything but she felt so weak she knew trying to break free would be worthless. She sat; trying not to be scared she looked up, not that she could see, to the person in front of her.

"Miho-chan," she sighed; it was Kabuto. He looked down to her and could tell she was only pretending to be angry; she was probably happy to finally have human company. "You're awake-" He paused as she tried to say something, but the gag muffled her words. "I'm afraid I cannot remove any of your bounds until we know you are stable. It's been two days since you were brought here," she heard him move away; had it really been two days? She'd slept for most of it occasionally woke up to feel Kabuto's hands on her neck. "You should be freed any time today; whenever Orochimaru-sama allows it." She could hear in his voice he was smiling that fake smile she hated so much. She jumped as suddenly his cold hands moved her hair away from her neck and felt her mark once more. She was glad to find he kept a distance from her; she was obviously in a very vulnerable position. "Yes," he drawled, "I'll go tell Orochimaru-sama that you're ready. You know, he has been gone for three days, he's come back today." She had no idea what he was talking about, had she blacked out half way through the conversation? "I suppose he'll be wondering what you're doing in his room," Kabuto said conversationally. "Then again, perhaps you'd like to see Sasuke?" She froze, she didn't even gasp. Sasuke? She had forgotten he would be here. After two and a half years, they would meet, face to face. She did not even register Kabuto move away from her, she simply jumped when the door slammed shut. Her breathing deepened and suddenly she was angry again; how was she supposed to murder with her hands tied? No, she decided against it; she should see how far he had advanced before attempting to kill him. She bowed her head and cleared her mind, trying to get a sense of her surroundings. She moved her head up as she heard the door creak open once more.

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	5. Chapter 5

**Sorry, it's a little short!

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**Sasuke pushed his door open and, with a hand still on the door, tilted his head to get the hair away from his eyes to see who or what was sat beside his bedroom wall. It was a woman, he could see the curves of her body in the dim light that lit the room. Her long brown hair, matted with blood, reached her hips in shimmering waves. She hadn't moved her head in his direction or given any indication that she knew he had entered, but something told him they'd met before. Almost a lifetime ago it seemed now. He knew her so well, to forget her was like forgetting how to breathe....at least, that was how it felt, like she was some habit he had tried to forget. He just couldn't understand it was a part of him, the younger Sasuke perhaps, begging him not to remember, not to get too close, because he'd forgotten how much he had hurt her. He took a few steps into the room until he was almost stood in front of her. He knelt at her side and took her chin in his hands. He could feel her shaking at his touch and she seemed to melt back into the wall. He pulled her forwards by her chin and she moved towards him quickly, he moved his hand quickly to her neck and held it firmly. Miho was so shocked she found that she was paralysed. She just let him move close to her ear, squeeze gently on her neck and whisper to her.

"Who do we have here?" He said and she shivered; how could she have forgotten the sound of his voice? Like silk slipping down her body as his breath caressed her cheek teasingly. She said nothing back. "Shame," he said, looking her up and down, a small smirk played on his face as he enjoyed the nervousness that grew inside her. "Orochimaru said you would be beautiful." He smiled as he could tell from the stiffening of her body that she was offended. Miho's desire to harm him did not go unnoticed; it seeped from her like the dense fumes of perfume and Sasuke simply enjoyed it. She wanted to strike him then in any way possible; how could he have the audacity to whisper such careless nothings to her? He could sense a second before she did it that she was going to struggle so in an instant he took her by the shoulders, pulled her up and forced her against the wall. She didn't make a sound even though his grip was incredibly painful and as he had pushed her against the wall her head hit the cold stone, sending a ripple of pain through her body. "I wonder what you're doing in my room?" He said softly even though neither were really listening anymore as they hda become engulfed by the strange tension hat had formed between them. "Ah," he said, suddenly realising and again, as quick as a bolt of lighting ripping the sky, he turned her around and pulled her back into his arms. She had forgotten the feeling of his body against hers and was becoming lost in thoughts of him until he pulled her hair to one side and gently tugged her shirt until her shoulder was bare. Blood covered the place he wanted to see and, with his hands holding her arms to her body he leant down and with his cheek wiped the blood and sweat from her shoulder. The brushing of his skin against her flesh made Miho's heart jump and fall back ever so slowly into place as he stood back to look. Indeed on her shoulder Orochimaru's mark was left and Sasuke's brow furrowed; what did Orochimaru possibly want with this girl? He moved one hand up to trace the mark on her skin in an almost teasing manner and moved his hand between her shoulder blades. At this point Miho did not want him any closer and tried to move forwards, away from his hands. He tugged her back with his left hand and with his right hand reached for his sword. Falling against the wall by the force of her body hitting his he wrapped a leg around hers to stop her attempting to walk forwards and brought his sword to her neck. Even his breathing had increased as he held her tighter than before and put his chin on her shoulder above the mark. Into her ear he breathed harshly and forced his cheek against hers so that the blood on his pale skin mixed with that on her skin. "Not even going to scream?" He asked her and she said nothing. He forced his sword a little harder into her neck until she was almost choking and a small line of blood trickled along the blade. Miho hated the darkness, the covering on her eyes meant she could not see him yet. "Do you hate me?" He asked even though he knew he wasn't going to get an answer. He moved so close to her body it was as though her blood was seeping through onto him but neither cared. Her lack of recognition, the blank face and no struggle, frustrated him and he removed his sword and she fell to the ground, gasping through her gag for breath. She turned to him and he towered above her. He advanced towards her. He reached across and pulled the cloth from her eyes.

Miho's vision was blurred for a moment and it took a while for her eyes to focus on the figure in front of her. She still shocked him and he stood, trying to hide his surprise. She was just as beautiful as he remembered her and even something about the fact her skin was covered in both blood and sweat and her hair stuck to her tanned skin, _almost _made him blush. Her light green eyes stared at him hungrily through the half-lit darkness and her heavy breathing seemed to echo through out the room. He watched as a bead of sweat travelled from her temple, down the side of her face, slither down her neck and disappear behind the cloth that covered her chest. Miho looked him up and down slowly and something, some part of her that wanted to hurt him began to melt away. In two and a half years she didn't think he'd change so much, she didn't think his dark eyes could become darker, his body become more muscular and as her eyes slipped down his chest to the torso she could see, even beneath the white cloth around his body, the outline of the muscles on his abdomen. And perhaps, if she were a few years younger, if she didn't hate him so much, her initial reaction would not be that he would be difficult to kill but instead, like Sakura, she would swoon under even a glance.

"No," he whispered and all of a sudden his mind hurt with suppressed memories boiling up inside of him, screaming to be heard. "No." He repeated as Miho lay in front of him, looking up with such hate that he could feel her blades against his heart already. "Miho?" It hurt a lot to hear him say her name again but she thought nothing of it and looked straight into those dark eyes.

"Sasuke." She said, a muffled grunt from beneath her gag. She stared at him for a moment before jumping up; fury raging in her eyes. She reached down instinctively for her daggers and realised they weren't there and her hands were bound anyway. Cursing, she still jerked forwards and she launched into the best hand-to-hand combat she could do with the old friend.

Sasuke was surprised at how fast and strong she had become, he blocked her first few moves but her fury kept her stamina up. She landed a blow straight on his face and he went sprawling into the wall, the hit was so powerful the wall began to crumble. She put his hands around his neck and using the rope that bound her, began to strangle him.

"HURT ME BACK!" She yelled into his ears for he did nothing to attack her, he just sat and took it. She proceeded to smash his head into the wall, screaming: "HIT. ME. BACK!" She screamed each word with every blow. Blood fell to the floor. She could hear him gasping.

"I can't hit you. I won't. Not you." This only enraged her more and she tightened her rope around his throat so her hands could meet his flesh.

"Get fucked. Break my heart but not my neck; is that how you work?" She could see him now beginning to panic; fighting with the voices in his head about whether to push her away. "I'm going to do the one thing my old master couldn't," his eyes flicked up to hers, "I'm going to kill the last of his clan." Sasuke's eyes widened in realisation but he could feel her getting weak; her arms were tiring as she just held onto his neck, no longer throwing him into the wall.

"I hope you don't think I'm not killing you because you're you. A person from the past. It's just because Orochimaru needs you. I have no problem knocking you out." Miho was just further enraged and her hands began to melt into this neck. She suddenly cried out in pain and her hands left his neck. She shut her eyes and clamped her hand to the bruise on her neck as her eyes streamed from the pain. "Miho," he said, turning to her and reaching out a hand but she did not want his hands on her so lashed out again. He fell backwards and she threw herself on him. Her blows were weak and Sasuke just stared up at her, amazed by the fact that hatred could lead to such strength. She pounded at his chest but he felt nothing and slowly reached up to place a straying strand of hair behind her neck.

"Don't!" She shouted and pushed his hand away but finally all strength left her and as he sat up she leant against his chest. "Stop," she croaked and hit him feebly again. He took her face in his hands and looked deep into her misted eyes, "stop." She whispered as the door opened for the third time that evening and a shadow fell across the floor.

"Ah," Orochimaru said loudly, "I see you two have met."

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**Reviews appreciated!**


	6. Chapter 6

**You know, you guys are a lot nicer than the last time I put this up, e.g. reviews from last time:**

_**Review for chapter 1: **_**what a rubbish story, stop writing this immediately!**

_**Review for chapter 2: **_**why are you still writing this?!**

**So thanks for being nice :)

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**"We thought you were killing each other," Miho could only open her eyes enough to see Orochimaru smirking with that demented, twisted smile he had, "it turns out you were doing quite the opposite." He said, eyeing up their position on the floor, something flashed in the darkness behind him and Miho could see Kabuto staring intently at them both. Sasuke and Miho put their hands on each others' shoulders and slowly, for they were tired, pushed gently to slide away from each other. Miho slid down Sasuke's lap and onto the floor. He stood and all three men looked won to her. She couldn't be bothered anymore, she was too overwhelmed by fatigue to fight back so she just sat there, massaging her shoulder that had seared with pain only a few moments ago. "I feared you'd try that," Orochimaru nodded towards her shoulder, "so that mark I placed on you is just a precaution. Do not try your Bloodline technique here." Miho's head was still hurting as she tried to understand what he was talking about; the mark meant she couldn't use her bloodline? "Is that understood?" For the first time she looked Orochimaru straight in the eye.

"Fuck off." She muttered and went back to massaging her arm.

"Very well." Orochimaru simply smiled at her making her shudder. "Would you like something to eat? You've been asleep for quite a long while." As he said this she realised she was incredibly hungry and so got shakily to her legs. Sasuke did nothing to help her stand and the two teenagers looked over to Orochimaru with a similar look of disgust, hate and fatigue. He found it amusing that they had these emotions for completely different reasons and yet, to him, they were very similar.

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"If you're going to stay here then I'm afraid the two of you are going to have to learn to get along." Orochimaru said to the two teenagers from the head of the table. Miho just focused on eating, her body was shaking still from shock and pain. She refused to look at any of them; she kept her gaze lowered and occasionally stole a glance at the person opposite her. Sasuke ate just like he used to; quietly and hardly touching his food. But Orochimaru smiled as they both gave him an identical look of apathy. "Is that ok Miho-kun?" She sighed and put her chopsticks down on the table.

"I'll try not to kill Sasuke," she said in a bored voice, when he still looked at her expectantly she carried on. "Or you, or Kabuto. Or whatever other freaks you have hiding with you-"

"There is no one else, just us. But that promise will do." They continued to eat in silence, and by them that meant just Sasuke and Miho, the other two did nothing but inspect them eagerly as though eyeing up a prized possession. After a few minutes Orochimaru leaned forwards in his chair, his long hair draping over the table. "Don't you want to know?" He asked suddenly and Miho jumped.

"Know what?" She asked and even though Sasuke was pretending not to listen he knew that the tone of voice Orochimaru used meant it was interesting enough for him to know about.

"What it was your old teacher was training you for?" Miho's eyes widened as she realised the implications of what he was saying. "Oh yes." He confirmed her anxieties, "your beloved Itachi-sama-" They had to wait a few moments for Sasuke to stop choking as he was told the revelation that Itachi had trained Miho, "was training you since you were a child, simply for his own needs."

"My brother trained you?" Sasuke asked across the table and Miho said nothing.

"It's the reason your life has unfolded the way it has," Orochimaru hissed and Miho looked down to her food, trying not to listen but the constant hiss in her ear from Orochimaru seemed to engulf her. "I have never believed in fate very much," he said, his finger stroking the gold of the goblet in front of him. "But everything you are now, everything that is going to happen is because of Itachi," The snake-man lifted a hand and put a finger on Miho's chin to tilt her head towards him. "I'm surprised you haven't asked all these questions." He stared at her light-green eyes intently until she spoke.

"I only have one purpose," she breathed, "and that is made by me. I live my life by my own rules. My own purpose." She said stubbornly and Orochimaru leant close to her face, his tongue protruding from the corner of his mouth hungrily.

"And that is?" He prompted her.

"To triumph where Itachi-sama failed," she looked across to Sasuke, "to kill the survivor of the Uchiha Clan massacre." Silence spread across the table like wildfire. A silence that almost deafened Sasuke as her last words echoed through it. Miho wanted him dead. She wanted to kill him herself. What could have possibly happened in the space of two and a half years to turn the kind and loving woman he knew into a murderer? He swallowed hard and stared determinedly back, not allowing her to break him. Orochimaru let go of Miho's chin and she fell back slightly into her chair. He sat back an seemed to consider the situation with great enjoyment.

"I will inform you in the morning of these answers." He nodded as though confirming his own thoughts. "It is late and I am tired. I'm sure you two have much catching up to do." Orochimaru stood from the table, nodded at them both and left. Kabuto lingered for a few moments as though debating over the idea of leaving them alone together again, he decided Orochimaru knew best and left. Miho avoided Sasuke's eyes and looked to her plate again, they listened as the sound of Kabuto's footsteps died down. Now that she was in his presence, alone, she had nothing to say to the man. It was strange how after years of hate and anguish that were caused by him, she found he was not even worthy of her words. She stood up to leave.

"Leaving so soon?" Sasuke's voice dripped with venom, Miho smiled from across the table.

"Yes." She said and as an afterthought added: "I figured you'd be no fun." She turned away from him and began to walk away.

"And I suppose Gaara was?" She stopped walking and could hear in his voice he liked the control he had over her. This comment evoked many questions inside of her head; how did he know about Gaara and more importantly, why did he care?

"You have no right to talk of my relationship with the Kazekage." She still had her back to him and used her most diplomatic tone, trying to keep her rage from boiling over.

"It's a bit screwed up isn't it?" He said in his deep, soothing voice. "Falling in love with someone and then wanting to kill their brother?" She whipped around at this and Sasuke's smirk faded as he saw a tiny glimmer of the hurt she felt. What he had said a moment before had indeed hurt her a lot; he had implied she loved Itachi.

"I didn't love him," she said as though trying to prove it to herself, "not the way I loved you." She whispered and there was something in her eyes that made Sasuke remember, all those years ago, of what loving her was like. "That was real." She said suddenly, "now, I couldn't care less-"

"How is my brother doing?" Sasuke interrupted her; he was trying to pretend he didn't care as well but in truth he couldn't handle her talking like that.

"I'm sure he'll feel better when I finish the job." She said scathingly. And they were back to where they started, bickering with bitter, twisted lies, hoping to fall out of love with one another.

"Hmmm…how do you get around all this?" Sasuke stood up as well. "You're going to kill your best friend for his elder brother that killed his whole family?" He laughed. "Isn't there something a little wrong in that logic?"

"You're hardly one to talk of loyalty." And before she knew it she was shouting again, "they were like family to me to!" She screamed at him, "But NO, it had to be about you! You think you're the only one that was hurting?" Her voice cracked but he hadn't broken her yet. "I had to deal with it alone; I thought you'd always be there for me!" Her voice echoed around the room and as she shouted Sasuke hardly blinked. "The Sasuke I knew is dead." She spat out at him. He simply stared at her and she shook her head, letting out a sigh. "Dead." She repeated and went to walk out of the room.

"I never stopped," she halted for the second time as memories came flooding back; it was that voice. The hurt voice so full of sorrow that it scared her when he spoke like that. It was the same voice he used when he left her. She turned to him slowly and saw his hands griping the chair in front of him tightly, his knuckles were turning white and his eyes filled with a rage even he didn't understand. "I never stopped loving you." He looked up at her, his dark eyes turned darker with the melancholy he had had to live with. "_Never." _She sighed again; he was not upset but angry with himself. "Orochimaru," he said quickly and she was confused by the change in topic, "brings women here to entice me to stay." He said and she was instantly disgusted. "But with them, sex was never beautiful." He whispered, lost in memories of their last meeting. "The meaning of being together was no longer wonderful. And I tried," he said quickly to her, "_so hard._ To make myself think I didn't care and I started to believe it." He rubbed the back of his neck as Miho looked on at him, hardly fazed by his revelations. "It drove me almost to insanity." He bit his lip as his body quivered. "When I looked at their eyes they were the colour of opals," he gestured to her eyes, "their hair was the colour of the night sky." She glanced to her shoulders where her dark hair brushed her skin, "their scent was yours," he said desperately, "their taste was yours-"

"Stop it." She spat at him. "No act will make me come to your bed." She said defiantly, "sex is no longer something beautiful for you; I can tell from the way you treated me before." He bowed his head.

"How can you say I'm dead?" He asked her, "when it was _you _keeping me alive?" He moved around the table to her and she held out a hand to stop him.

"I mean nothing to you." She reminded him but he shook his head.

"You are everything-"

"You mean nothing to me!" She shouted at him, trying with all her heart to believe it. Sasuke reached her and roughly took her by the shoulders before pinning her against the wall. "You mean nothing." She whispered and he could see, from the blankness in her eyes, that she was speaking the truth. His hands dropped from her shoulders and he took a step back. She stood up straight and looked him in the eye. "There is nothing here to hold on to Sasuke," she said and with no more to say she walked away. Sasuke watched her go, realising now he had lost her forever. Both went to their rooms which were opposite each other and both went with that same feeling of loss, helplessness and the desire to feel the brush of their skin against the other's lips.

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**This is a chapter to tell all my readers (who are awesome) that this is the last story I shall be updating for three months.**

**Yeah, no more fanficking for three months :( stay strong guys, I'll be back before you know it:)**

**In the meantime, send a REVIEW  
**


	7. Chapter 7

**Wahey! I'm back!

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**Miho woke from an uneasy sleep; memories were beginning to take her over. She was getting lost in thoughts and feelings she thought were dead and shook her head to wake herself up as she sat up and looked around the room. She was still getting used to this horrible place; it was so hidden from the world she hadn't seen sunlight for days and as she muttered something about the colour of the sky the door opened. Kabuto walked into the room and she could sense Orochimaru's evil seeping from the corridor outside.

"Good morning Miho-kun." Kabuto said pleasantly but she still did not reply, just sat back against the wall and appraised him with such loathing her murderous intent almost matched Orochimaru's. "You need a bath." He pointed out the obvious and Miho silently thanked the gods that they had a showers in this place; she had not washed since her fight with Sasuke. She was drenched in her own sweat and blood and was so tired last night she had collapsed on her bed without even washing her face. "The baths are down this corridor, on the right." He gestured to the corridor behind him. "Orochimaru-sama and I must leave for a few days-"

"Days?" Miho croaked; her voice still adjusting to a new day.

"We have some business to attend to." He smiled at her and walked out of the room. "Please, we want to come back and find Sasuke alive." He added as he and Orochimaru walked away, out of the hideout. Miho remained sat on her bed for a few more moments. Alone with Sasuke in this place for a few days? She didn't think she could take it. Looking around the room she saw that they had placed, on a chair at a desk, a white shirt and dark blue shorts. They may be evil but at least they were hospitable. She raised herself up from the bed and practically staggered over to the chair. Removing the clothes she went to her door and, knowing it was a ridiculous thing to do, looked out to see if Sasuke's door was open. It was. He was already awake. Smoothing her hair back from her face she opened the door fully and walked out into the candlelit hallway; seriously, the lack of natural light was beginning to make her feel more closed in than she actually was.

She followed the corridor until she came to the last door on the right. She could sense the heat and humidity from the room seep from under the wooden door and pushed it open. Despite herself, she smiled; the room was simply a large bath full of spring water and only now she could truly feel the dirt and grime settling itself on her body and she was ready to wash the dry, crusted blood away. Six oil lanterns lit the room and their soft glow throw the mist on top of the steaming water gave the place an almost dream-like quality. She put the clothes in her arms on a wooden bench and began to untie the white kimono that had a ribbon at her waist.

"Hurry up." She jumped as he spoke and turned around to him quickly, pulling the ribbon back together so tight she could hardly breath. Sasuke stood at the doorway, looking uninterested in her response and she knew she had no strength to fight him so said nothing. "I want to have a bath." He added nonchalantly. Even though Miho had pulled her kimono together the sleeve covering her left shoulder fell down to reveal a series of scratches and bites that had oozed blood but were now dry and would be infected. "You need to clean your wounds." He advised her and she nodded.

"I know-"

"Call me." He said suddenly, "if you need help; there's no one else here."

"Why would you help me?" She asked bitterly and he sighed.

"Orochimaru told me to look after you." He said, "but otherwise stay out of my way." Sasuke snapped, "when I'm training I don't expect to see you." He nodded to her and walked away. As he made his way to the library that contained Orochimaru's scrolls that he studied, Sasuke wondered what had come over him. Why had he treated her like that? Last night she put him in his place and now he was doing the same to her. That was all there was left between them, a few sparring words and stolen glances but that was it. Still, a strange desire flooded him, to go back and steal one last look at her.

By the bath Miho took a few more moments to consider what would have happened if he had walked in a few moments later than he did. Then she shrugged the thought away; they were enemies! They just had to be polite to each other until the opportunity arose when she could break him for the last time. She untied the ribbon once more and let the kimono slip away from her skin. She was disgusted as she looked down her body to find snake bites and cuts all over her. Hot tears began to brim in her eyes as she thought of Orochimaru touching her like that. Each of them was vile and cruel, she thought as she slid into the water. It was so warm and comforting that she took her time to wash the blood away. The bath was large enough for her to swim from one end to another and so she did, thinking all the while of what she was to do here. She was no match for him, she thought her anger would lend her strength, that her skills would help but no. He hadn't even tried last night and she was fatigued so easily. What was she to do; train here? Await her fate the Orochimaru had suggested? And what had Itachi been planning to do with her? For a moment, a bizarre moment she wanted to scream; just stand up and scream and let all the anger out but she couldn't. She put her arms over the edge of the bath and hung there for a while.

She was beginning to realize something too; she was like Sasuke, wasn't she? Becoming so consumed by hate and remorse that she had alienated her friends. She thought of Naruto, even though there were a few weeks of age between them she had always loved him like a younger brother. And that day she had said awful things to him; what kind of sister does that? She wiped the drops of water from her face and thought of Sakura. She almost smiled as she remembered how obsessed the girl was with Sasuke. Most of the girls in Konoha in fact. But they didn't know him; not the way Miho did. They didn't know what a selfish, arrogant idiot the boy was. She picked herself up, out of the spring water and reached for a towel. As she wrapped the cloth around herself she winced as the dried blood had washed away and some of her wounds had opened. When she was younger, when she had just joined team 7 Kakashi had once cleaned her wounds for her. She wasn't sure why that man acted like a father to her sometimes but with this she came to understand that at one point, long ago, she had loved them. All of them. She had loved Konoha too, with it's fresh, lazy summers and cosy, festive winters. Where did that all go? She walked over to a nearby cupboard and opened it. As she guessed ointments and medicines lined the shelves. Dark, dusty bottles greeted her with foul smelling contents and after a few minutes of rummaging through, she found what she wanted.

She went to sit on the wooden bench where her clothes were and lifted her knees up. In the dim light of the room, in the mist she opened the bottle and grabbed some cotton wool from a shelf too. Wetting the wool with the ointment, she looked at her left arm and saw cuts there. She put the damp cotton onto the wound and yelled accidentally. She put a hand to her mouth and for some reason had hoped she hadn't disturbed Sasuke. After she got over the pain, she wiped her damp eyes hurriedly and continued the torture. Minutes passed as she did the scratches and bites on her arms and legs and once or twice she whimpered; she never thought healing could hurt so much.

"I thought I told you to hurry up?" Sasuke asked from the door and the bottle almost fell from Miho's hands. She adjusted her towel as best she could and appraised him coldly. "Here," he said, walking forwards and holding out a hand for the bottle, "let me do it-"

"Don't be ridiculous." She snapped and he noticed that as he moved towards her she the towel tighter to her figure.

"So what about the wounds along your spine?" He asked and she lowered her gaze; her back was stinging slightly and she doubted she could reach her spine properly. "How're you going to kill me if your wounds get deeper?" Normally she may have laughed but not now because what he had said was true; she needed to be as healthy as possible if she was going to have her way with him. She held the bottle out to him and he took it and, she was almost grateful, there was no smile, so sense of lust or triumph came from him. Perhaps he was just doing what Orochimaru told him to do and that was it. "Move your hair." He said as he sat behind her and she moved her waves of wet hair to one side of her neck. She heard him place his sword on the bench before moving closer to her and dampening the cotton with ointment once more, at the base of her neck he cleaned a scratch.

"Ah," Miho gasped and bit her lip; it stung terribly.

"Does it hurt?" He asked and she did not reply. She was so stubborn sometimes, he remembered how many arguments she had won as children because of her refusal to change her mind. Along the warm, moist skin of her back his fingers brushed away some of the liquid that oozed from the cotton. It surprised him that as he did so she shivered slightly; did she detest him that much?

"Hey!" She called out and yanked the towel as high up as it would go. She turned to him and he simply stared at her. He had tried to get to the other wounds by pulling the towel down a little.

"The other wounds." He pointed to her back and she sighed.

"How the hell did I get cuts there?" She muttered and turned her back to him once more.

"Maybe you have sweet blood?" Sasuke suggested and she cringed as she let the towel fall down her back and brought her knees up to her chest. "Orochimaru-sama enjoys the taste." She almost felt physically sick as he said this. She felt his hand run between her shoulder blades and she tensed immediately as she could sense the warm liquid run from the cotton down her back. She wasn't feeling the pain anymore, she could just feel his hands against her skin and she cursed herself; how could she be feeling this way when she wanted him dead? Minutes of silence trickled past in which Sasuke worked on cleaning her wounds and Miho slumped forwards, bit her lip and prayed for it to end.

"How long will they be gone for?" She asked suddenly and Sasuke thought for a moment.

"At least three days," he replied. Silence ensued once more. The flow of water in the bath was all they could hear and slowly, Miho became more comfortable with Sasuke's presence. "I don't remember this." He muttered and she looked over her shoulder to him.

"Remember what?" She asked and his fingertips brushed an old scar near her hip. Her face fell and her brow furrowed. "When Naruto went after you," she said coldly, "we all fought Orochimaru's minions and…that's what they did to me." Sasuke nodded slowly and said nothing, simply continued to wipe away the fresh blood that seeped from her, staining her skin.

"Why did you go after me, when you wanted to kill me?" He asked softly and was surprised when Miho laughed.

"_I _wanted to have the pleasure of killing you myself." Sasuke smirked, "I wasn't going to let Orochimaru do it for me." Sasuke got up and walked to the shelves where he put the bottle away and turned back to her.

"No," he said as she pulled the towel over her back, "you must wait for it to dry." She nodded and turned her head away from him so she would not have to look at him.

"Naruto," he spoke the name for the first time in a long time, "wants me to come back to Konoha?" Miho shook her head and put on a manic smile.

"They all want you back!" She exclaimed, "it's ridiculous." She muttered as an afterthought.

"Why?" He enquired and went to sit on the bench next to her. She adjusted her towel once more but he was not looking at her.

"It's ridiculous because they got to know you after," she faltered, "it happened." Sasuke gave nothing away, his face remained blank as she spoke. "I had some reason," she said in an almost pleading voice, "to want you back. I knew who you really were; before you became obsessed with revenge. How could they possibly want you back?" She repeated her thoughts and Sasuke shrugged.

"I never understood it either; Naruto and Sakura," he shook his head slightly and his dark hair, wet from the humidity, clung to his skin, "why did they trust me so much?" He turned to her. "You were there, you saw it. Sakura ran after me wherever I went and I disregarded her completely but she still ran." He was becoming angry, small sparks flickered at his fingertips. "Naruto likened me to a brother when all I ever did was fight with him." He turned to her, "and you. The one person who truly knew me. You loved me." He whispered and before he could go any further, for Miho knew what was going to happen, she interrupted him.

"Don't you ever want to come back?" She asked, for once she was genuinely sincere. "You talked once to me, about rebuilding the Uchiha clan." She leant towards him, "with me." She whispered. "Will you return tp-"

"No." He stood up suddenly.

"I thought it was too much to hope for." Miho murmured as he walked to the door. At the doorway he turned back to her.

"We are alone for three days." He said slowly, "everyday, at eight o'clock, I train in a circular room a few doors from your room." She wasn't sure why he was telling her this and simply stared at him blankly. "If you still feel hate. If you still feel like destroying me. Then that's where I will be." He was about to walk away and then seemed to remember something. "If you want to," he shrugged, "talk," Miho laughed; Sasuke never wanted to talk. "If you want me," she stopped smiling as he said this and knew he was aware of the bond between them, "for anything; my room is opposite yours." He walked away. Miho stared at the spot he was last stood; three days alone. She couldn't tell what she would do. She would either break him in this time, or could she, _possibly, _bring the Sasuke she knew, back to her?

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**As always, reviews are appreciated!**


	8. Chapter 8

Miho looked at herself in the full-length mirror opposite. She smiled and was grateful for being clean again and wearing new clothes. There was almost something familiar about the white top and blue shorts with white ribbon covering exposed wounds. She knew someone who used to dress in a similar way but shrugged as she could not remember. She walked out of the bathroom with her old clothes in her hands and when she entered her room she threw them into the bin. It was strange how this place was so accommodating to her even though it belonged to a man she did not consider human. As she turned back to the door she saw Sasuke's door was open. For a moment she hesitated before walking forwards quietly and listening outside the room. She could hear no noise; perhaps he was training in another part of the building? She went in and looked around, it was identical to hers-

"Can I help you with something?" She jumped as he spoke and, despite himself, Sasuke smirked at her reaction. She stumbled over her words before thinking and then speaking.

"I was just…wondering what you were doing." She muttered feebly. He was sat, one knee raised, on his bed. Papers strewn around him and he was reading something she tried to get a look at but he put the paper away.

"Studying." He replied and she stood awkwardly opposite him for a while.

"Right. Well," she began to walk out. "I'll be leaving now." She said and he nodded a goodbye. As she left Sasuke nearly laughed; they had not done that in a long time. They had not had a moment where Miho was nervous in front of them since they were very young. Except, one thing about these moments is that Miho would always come ba- "Orochimaru." She said as she walked back in. "Knows where Akatsuki is, doesn't he?" Sasuke nodded again. "Is it possible that that is where he is?"

"It is a possibility, yes." He confirmed and she nodded. Before she could walk out again he spoke; "my brother," he waited for her to stop moving and turned back to him, "when did he start training you?" Miho blushed slightly and looked to the floor.

"A few days after _the _fight." He knew which one she was referring to. "He trained me until," she faltered, "until he left." She sat down on a chair at his desk, deciding this would be a long conversation.

"What did he train you to do?" Sasuke sat forwards on his bed, intent to listen. Miho cleared her throat; why was she doing this, telling him the truth? Why was she even bothering to speak with him? She couldn't help it; the desire to win him back was beginning to override her desire to kill him.

"To control my bloodline-"

"How would my brother know about it so much?" He asked, almost to himself.

"I wondered that too." Miho interjected. "But Orochimaru said that he had been training me for Akatsuki's use." She shivered as she said it; she hated the idea of being used. "So he must have researched before hand." Sasuke acted as though he did not care but he was thinking about a million things at once. A million memories of his older, forgotten brother telling him he could not train him and the times Miho told him she could not fight him today.

"You both kept it from me." He stated and she rolled her eyes.

"Grow up." Was all she said, "I was in danger if I didn't have control. Regardless of whether or not Itachi-sama was using me; he helped protect me." There was a moment of silence.

"Will you show me?" Sasuke asked timidly, "will you explain it to me, your bloodline?" She raised an eyebrow.

"Why?"

"If I know what it is, I may be able to work out what Akatsuki plan for you." He hesitated, "and, perhaps, stop them." He took a breath, "And save you." Miho actually laughed, a cruel, heartless laugh that tore Sasuke's heart to pieces. "Miho, I have no hatred towards you-"

"Yes, it's a pity the feeling is not mutual." Miho whispered. Sasuke moved as fast as lighting and was instantly knelt in front of her.

"I have just said that I would save your life." He said, "I would give anything…but you still hate me-"

"If you loved me that much you wouldn't have left!" She exclaimed and moved as far back on the chair as she could to get away from him. "If you loved me so damn much you wouldn't have broken my heart." She shook her head. "You wouldn't have just left me out of your life." Sasuke gave up as she became angry. "If any part of you," they stood up, "still thought I was worth something," she hit him with a fist lightly on his chest, "you would come back to me." Sasuke shoved her hand away from him.

"If you hate me so much why don't you just kill me?!" He shouted at her, coming very close to her face.

"Kill you?!" She screamed back.

"Yes." He said and walked out, she ran after him. At the end of the corridor he shoved the doors open in front of him and walked into the circular room he trained in. He walked to the middle of the room and turned to her. She entered with equal speed and anger.

"Here? Now?" She asked and he laughed.

"Now's pretty good." He shouted back. "No one around to interrupt!"

"Perfect!" She yelled and in an instant Sasuke's eyes changed from that stunning dark shade to the infamous pattern of Sharingan. She ran at him and for a few frustrating minutes he blocked every single one of her attacks. She shouted in frustration and skidded backwards, away from him. Sasuke put his fingers to his lips.

"Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu!" He yelled and Miho braced herself. Fire erupted from his lips and the ball of flame engulfed Miho's figure. The confidence left Sasuke's eyes, his hand fell from his face and he gasped as Miho stood in the flames, unseen, hidden by bright colours of orange and red. "No!" He called out, for in that foolish moment he burnt her whole body. As the flames subsided and his screams died down, Sasuke's shock heightened; out of the dead flames Miho stood, perfectly unharmed. She smirked and moved forwards, Sasuke was too surprised to block and so her first hit landed on his jaw. He went flying back into the wall and slid down the dark bricks slowly. He stood quickly and saw her standing in front of him. Even Sasuke's sharingan could not have predicted what happened next.

"Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu!" Miho screamed, copied his pose and instantly fire came from the tip of her soft lips. Sasuke moved just in time as the flames hit the wall. He crouched on the floor and looked back to her. Miho's bruise was moving over her body; unlike his which was a sea of delicate dark curls, her bruise formed sharp, dark daggers across her skin. He was amazed she couldn't feel the pain; was she using her bloodline completely? She was becoming reckless as her bruise began to cover her skin. In his hand a ball of silver light, sparks exploding from the surface of the orb, became to form.

"Chidori!" He shouted as it formed and became nervous as Miho showed no fear and kept walking to him. He was so accustomed to performing this technique he stood, a smirk to match Miho's showed on his face. The sparks that fled from the orb in his hands reached Miho and she caught one in her hand. Sasuke's smile faded as she opened her fingers like a flower blooming he saw the small spark grow. From a table nearby was a glass of water and she knocked it over. As the liquid fell she caught some in her hand. Sasuke had forgotten about his own jutsu and was concentrating on what she was doing for he had never seen anything like it. The water disappeared into her hand and the small spark continued to grow into- "Chidori?" He whispered and panicked. He was scared of what she was going to do and before she could react he slammed his chidori into her chest.

"Ah," she gasped, and Sasuke stopped, his hands against her chest as he saw the light go from her eyes. "Think it would be that easy?" She whispered and smiled, Sasuke took a startled step back and looked to her chest. The place he had attacked had turned to water; his attack had gone straight through her chest as slowly the solid form of her chest formed once more.

"What-?" But before he had time to speak she threw her own chidori at him. He was angry now and this frustration gave him speed. He blocked by crouching and then sprung from the ground towards her. He was glad to see her smile vanish as he jumped into her and forced her against the wall. He grabbed her shoulders and pinned her against the wall. "How did you do that?!" He shouted at her, came very close as though trying to see her secret in her eyes. He pulled her forwards and shoved her against the wall with more force. She didn't say anything so he decided to get answers from her the old fashioned way.

He looked down to his sword, removed it from it's sheath and looked back up to hold it against her neck. In the same moment Miho had removed a kunai that was strapped to her thigh and brought it to her neck. Everything stopped. They stood, just their deep breathing sounding through out the room and sweat dripping down their necks onto the blades held against their skin. Their lips were trembling but they kept their eyes staring straight into each other's.

"Come on then." Sasuke whispered. "You said you were going to kill me, now's the time to do it." He could see Miho's confliction in her eyes; they flicked from her kunai against his neck, to his lips and back to his eyes.

"You could kill me." She whispered back and Sasuke watched as a bead of sweat traveled like a tear down her cheek. "Come on." She nudged her kunai into his neck. There were a few moments of silence where neither spoke. Instead their forgotten memories of each other, from the age of four up to the last moment they met that night, were coming back to them.

"You can't kill me." Sasuke said and Miho pushed her kunai against him harder. Her lip trembled.

"No!" She shouted and they threw their blades to the floor. Sasuke pushed her up against the wall with more force and she pulled him into her embrace. Miho brushed his hair away from his face and held it away so she could look into his eyes. Her eyes filled with diamond tears and Sasuke moved her close to her lips.

"You love me." He said as his hands outlined the curved of her hips, up to her waist and held her there.

"You need me." She reminded him and he nodded. And for the first time since the last night they spent together in Konoha, Sasuke brushed her petal like lips with his fingers and her hands ran through his hair to his neck as she pulled him in. "Come back to me." She whispered as he closed his eyes and pressed his lips against hers.

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**Please review!**

**Miho's bloodline is fully explained later. I hope you enjoyed it- I'm not very good at writing fights but I wanted the shift from murderers to lovers to be…INTENSE. **


	9. Chapter 9

The two forgotten lovers lay together for the first time in almost three years. As close as two human beings could possibly be, they held each other in a tight embrace. Their fingers interlocked, his lips against her neck and her legs wrapped around him so tight it was as though they were one. He breathed deeply against the deep brown waves of her hair as it cascaded around their figures. He moved away so he was above her, marveling at how beautiful someone could be when asleep. Wondering how he let her go, how he let her hate him so much, when she was so wonderful. Her eyes blinked open slowly and he saw that she had forgotten he was with her but when she looked upon him once more her eyes softened and she smiled.

"How did things end up like this?" He asked in a low voice and brought her hand up to his lips. He hung his head as the shame crept into him once more.

"We were both selfish." She answered as he leant down to her stomach and released her hand from his. He outlined the curve from her hip to her waist. "I made myself think I could kill you," she brushed his hair away from his forehead, "when all I ever wanted was to hold you again, just like this." He put his head on her stomach and held tightly to her waist. There was a minute of silence. "Come back to Konoha," Miho said suddenly and Sasuke moved away from her quickly, sat up on the bed and flung his legs over the side. With his back to her, he ran a hand through his hair and sighed. Miho sat up behind him and put a hand out to his shoulder but changed her mind and put her hand down. "Sasuke-"

"Miho." He interrupted her. "You know I can't do that." She held him from behind and put her head on his shoulder.

"Please-"

"Why can't you understand!?" He shouted and stood up, causing her to fall forwards slightly. He stood in front of her and she looked up at him with those opal eyes. "He killed them," Sasuke whispered, "our family." He knelt in front of her and took her hands.

"You are my family." She said simply without looking at him. He let go of her roughly and walked away. "Sas…" Her voice trailed away as the boy walked to a draw in his room and took something out; it looked like an old piece of material, a black cloth frayed at the edges.

"Do you remember this?" He asked and knelt in front of her once more. As he unfolded the material she smiled as she saw the Uchiha family crest. A white and red fan adorned the black scarf and Miho's finger traced the outline of the symbol.

"I once asked your dad if I could wear something which had this crest." She laughed, "and he said that I would have to marry into the family to become part of the clan." Sasuke smirked. "But you never liked the idea of marrying me-"

"I was six." He pointed out. "And then you stole this scarf." She bit her lip.

"Your dad did not like that," she said and Sasuke laughed at her talent for understatement.

"I had never seen him so angry." He said as Miho took the scarf in her hands. "I want you to have it." Sasuke muttered in a serious tone.

"What?" She looked round to him.

"You are the only person I want to be with." He said and put a hand to her face, "when all this is done with, when there's time, when I come home-"

"But I want you home now!" She said and pulled him towards her.

"I will come back to you," he said, kissing her forehead, "I promise." Miho folded the scarf in discontented silence. "Why don't you hate him?" Sasuke asked. "I could never understand why you didn't feel as angry as I did." She shrugged.

"He loved me, even up until the last moment." She said and knew it would cause Sasuke a lot of hurt to hear that but he deserved the truth. "He came to me as soon as he'd murdered them." She said, blinking away unwanted tears, "he told me not to go near there for a few hours, so I wouldn't see anything." She shook her head, "but I remember, he tortured you." She took his hands and kept her fingers moving between his, "I couldn't believe it." She whispered, "he hurt you so much, didn't he?" She looked up to Sasuke but he remained silent. "Why did he grow so cold towards you, but stay so close to me?" Sasuke came back onto the bed and sat with his back to her. "I don't know what to think." She sobbed into his shoulder, "I love you. But I cannot hate him."

"I don't think I can ever understand that." Sasuke said.

"I don't understand it either." Miho added.

"But I will ask you," he twisted around to see her, "let me do this. Let me avenge them," he brushed a hand over her face to move hair out of her eyes. "And I will run back to you so fast you won't have time to miss me." He assured her and she nodded.

"Alright." She agreed with his actions.

"Now we need to get you out of here." Sasuke said and Miho was shocked.

"What?" She asked and pulled him back so roughly, as he went to stand up, that he was forced back onto the bed. Above him Miho peered at him curiously.

"You're not staying here," Sasuke said, "just to wait for Akatsuki to come for you?" He asked and reached up to her neck.

"I won't leave you." She said urgently, "I've just got you back. I'm not leaving."

"Miho, they'll come here and take you from me-"

"I'm not leaving you!" She shouted and hit his chest.

"You're being stubborn!" He shouted back.

"Well you better get used to it because I'm not going anywhere." He laughed.

"You're ridiculous." He snapped but could never stay angry at her for very long. "Let me train you." He said quietly, "at least you can protect yourself from them." She nodded.

"Fine," she said eagerly, "so long as I get to stay." They spent a few minutes thinking about their future, trying to hide their doubts and be happy that they were together again. "We have at least two days left together." She whispered.

"I wasn't planning on leaving this room anyway." He said and she laughed as he pulled her towards him.

* * *

Itachi stood at a sink in his quarters, hands gripped the side of the sink tightly and he looked up into the mirror that had misted up as he had showered. He breathed in the hot air slowly and deeply, trying to clear his head. He ran a hand down the mirror, removing the built-up moisture so he could see his reflection clearly. Around his neck hung a necklace, three beads on a silver chain. Miho had made it, years ago. One bead for Itachi, one for Miho and one for Sasuke. He had never taken it off, he didn't know why. Itachi ran a hand through his hair and shivered as droplets of water fell from his hair to his shoulders and ran down the contours of his arms. He thought back to the day she gave it to him…

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_-Begin flashback-_

Miho saw her teacher stood on the pier at the lake, the same one she had helped Sasuke train on. Her smile broadened as she dropped her school bag and ran down to him. As she approached he turned to her with a wry smile, the setting sun in the sky causing the lake to show colours of pink and purple. She ran so fast she found it difficult to stop and managed to skid to a halt in front of Itachi.

"Hello, Miho." He said smoothly and realized that she was being quieter, more conservative than usual. She was looking to the floor and had something behind her back. Her being seven years old and him being thirteen meant he had to kneel to come face to face with her. "Do you have something for me?" He asked and she blushed and shook her head. "Then what's behind your back?" She giggled and held out her hand to him in which there was a small black bag. He took it from her and was beginning to open it when she stopped him.

"Not now!" She said urgently in that squeaky voice young girls have. She was embarrassed; Itachi was not a sentimental or sensitive teenager at all and so she did not know or want to know what his reaction would be. He smiled at her. "Itachi-sama?" She asked quietly.

"Hmmm?" He stood up and looked out across the lake.

"I love you very much." She said suddenly and Itachi looked down to her in surprise. "Sasuke loves you very much." Oh, he knew where this was going. "Do you care about us?" It had been a few days since the beginning of the end of Itachi's relationship with his father. He had started to grow distant from Sasuke who must have confided with Miho. He knelt back down and the little girl bit her bottom lip with apprehension.

"I care for you both." He said to her and she smiled. "I'm sorry for worrying you." She shook her head.

"No, you didn't. I just…" She shrugged and Itachi nodded.

"You ready to train?" She nodded eagerly, "let's begin."

_-End Flashback-

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_

Itachi remembered how loving a child she was, even he, who was never close to anyone, found her adorable. His family had adopted her straight away and she had become infatuated with Sasuke from the moment her opal eyes had met his. But a few days ago, when he had seen her in Suna, he had never thought she'd become so stunning. He never thought a woman could make him drop his guard but he was beginning to forget the child he had trained but kept the thought of her tanned skin and light eyes, in his mind. And he had trained her for his own use. His own feelings were confusing him; he wanted to see her again, safe and happy but he knew he had to go through with Akatsuki's plans. In two days he'd be seeing her again. Itachi wiped water from his face, chest and arms and threw the towel away. He could wait two days. Until then, he would have to participate in planning her death.

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**So, I've been re-watching all the Itachi episodes and am trying very hard to pinpoint how I could manipulate his character to accommodate Miho (yeah, I take fanfiction **_**that**_** seriously) but I'm not sure if it's working. Please, if anyone has any hints/tips about his character, let me know. Also, if anyone feels up to being my beta let me know! Thanks very much everyone. **

**Reviews are the nicest thing you can possibly give in life. XD**


	10. Chapter 10

**Hello readers! A few updates for you all. Basically, I'm headed out to the US for a while so not sure if I'll be able to update at all for about a month. ALSO, I don't read the manga and so have NOT included any spoilers. I've just had to deal with the information I have. And it's tough!

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Miho and Sasuke sat beside each other next to a fire that sent sparks and embers flying into the room. As the fire raged on in front of them, devouring the wood Sasuke had placed in their, as the hot logs turned orange and sparkled with flames, he and Miho sat in complete silence. There was simply that crackling sound of flames and fire and even though the heat was intense, there seemed to be a thin, chilling divide between them and the blaze. Miho lay down on the cold stone floor and pulled the blanket around her. Sasuke stayed sitting upright, his knees up and hands clasped together in front of his face; as was the pose he took when thinking.

They had decided what they were going to do; they had no idea how their futures would unfold and they couldn't bear to be apart but they had decided. To gain information, to delay Akatsuki's plans, Miho would go when they came for her. And she would have to endure those moments of pain when she remembered he was not with her and she would wait for him. She had not asked what Sasuke was planning to do in the time he was away from her and she was not planning on asking. She had pointed out Orochimaru's real desire for Sasuke and he had acknowledged her concerns and reassured her he would be safe. How he would be safe, she did not know. But she trusted him and that was enough.

"Do you remember," she began softly and waited for him to lower his hands and look down to her, "the girls of Konoha?" She asked timidly and Sasuke shrugged.

"I remember Sakura," his brow furrowed as he tried to delve deeper into his memories, "and the blonde one-"

"Ino," Miho said and he nodded.

"Why do you ask?"

"Those girls used to follow you everywhere." She laughed as she said it, "they would hang on to your every word and beg to sit beside you in class." Sasuke shrugged; they meant nothing to him.

"Why are you saying this?" Sasuke asked, aware that she had not answered the question. She sat up slowly and twiddled her fingers.

"When we were in the center of the town girls would run out of shops to catch a glimpse of you," Miho murmured. "Why then, out of all those girls, did you want me?" She kept her eyes fixed on the fire and even though she did not show it, she really wanted him to answer the way she wanted.

"What's so bad about you, in comparison to those girls?" He asked.

"No one ever looks twice at me," she almost whispered, "those girls were so much more beautiful than I was." Miho winced as Sasuke laughed.

"None of those girls could ever, _ever, _compare to you." He explained; "it's a ridiculous and worthless thought to think that I would ever compare you to them; they do not even come close." Sasuke reached backwards with two fingers, in the same manner his brother would do, and tapped her forehead. "Idiot."

"Ouch." She muttered and massaged her skin.

"Those girls," Sasuke said with disgust, "what did they ever see in me? I just ignored them." It was Miho's turn to laugh.

"Why wouldn't they find the strong, silent, handsome, lone soldier attractive?" She asked, "not a clue." There was a minute of silence. "She loved you, Sakura." Miho said suddenly, "I think. Maybe even more than I did. She protected you, cared for you…" Her voice faltered, "she will be glad to see you again." Sasuke said nothing. "Orochimaru and Kabuto will be here any moment now." Miho said and stood up. As she walked back to the bed she pulled her clothes on roughly and looked back around to Sasuke. "What's that look about?" She asked as she saw the far off glint in his eye. He had cocked his head back to her and had a small smirk playing on his lips.

"The very second I come back to you," he began, "don't waste any time, run to me so that I can marry you." Miho, who had been tying up her hair, let her hands fall to her side and she suddenly felt faint so sat on the bed.

"Marry me?" She asked and Sasuke nodded, he looked back to the fire.

"You will finally become an Uchiha." He said.

"And I suppose your love for me has nothing to do with it?" She enquired shyly.

"The fact that every moment without you causes me pain, that every second I am with you feels like euphoria and the last words you said to me play in my head like some sort of symphony," he looked back to her and shrugged, "might have something to do with it, I guess." She tried to hide the fact that butterflies fluttered in her stomach and a strange excitement was rushing through her blood, by shrugging too.

"I would be honored," she said confidently, "to finally become an Uchiha." Sasuke too tried not to smile. "And rebuild the clan." Miho remembered how adorable Sasuke was when he was a child and as she tied up her hair she wondered if their child could possibly be as cute. Once she had finished she looked up to see Sasuke, dressed again, in front of her. He walked forwards and kissed her shoulder and then her neck.

"Goodbye." He whispered and brushed his lips against hers. When their kiss ended, they simply stood, eyes closed, foreheads together, listening to their deep breaths and beating hearts. Miho kissed Sasuke's forehead and moved away from him.

"Until our paths cross again." She concluded and they looked each other up and down slowly. After an agonizing silence of looking into each others' eyes, Miho left the room.

"We have to pretend we hate each other!" He called through his door to her.

"I've had plenty of practice!" She called back and Sasuke smiled.

* * *

_-Akatsuki Hideout-_

"Itachi," a friendly voice said but Itachi knew better than to think of him as a friend, "will you be collecting her?" Deidara asked in an almost mocking tone from across the table. The long lost Uchiha kept his cool, knowing that a response was beneath him. Akatsuki were sat around a table for one of their rare meetings when they were all together; usually a pair was missing but this time they all had to be present. Itachi's patterned eyes flicked up to Deidara before a small wave of dark intent flooded the room.

"He is." Kisame answered for Itachi and then the meeting lapsed into the same boring, dogmatic shit that Itachi was bored of hearing. He stared at the glass of water in front of him and pulled the collar of his cloak up further. He and Kisame were ordered the task of bantering with Orochimaru for the girl. Itachi was sure Miho would come here; she had no choice, she was trapped. He had trapped her. Caught her as a child, trained her and left her for dead. Before he knew it the meeting was over; everything had been decided and he had not had any input whatsoever. He heard the scraping of wooden chairs against the stone floor and everyone began talking amongst themselves. He remained seated for a minute longer than anyone else and with a sigh of exasperation, stood up.

"It will be strange," Kisame said to him in a lowered voice as they walked away from the table, "to have a woman here." The way he said it, the slight sneer, the lustrous intent, made Itachi's fist clench and eyes narrow on Kisame. His partner did not notice Itachi's hatred spill from him.

"If anyone touches her," Itachi said to him with such intense anger that it interested Kisame; why was this girl so important to Itachi? "I will kill them myself." As Kisame looked back to Itachi he knew better than to anger those eyes and so nodded seriously.

"She shall be in your keeping." Kisame said and Itachi said nothing but walked swiftly from the room.

* * *

"Sasuke-kun?" He had sensed their presence before Orochimaru had called his name and so walked out of his room. Sauske was greeted with a vicious smile from Orochimaru and a nod from Kabuto. "Miho-kun?" Opposite his room, the door opened and Miho walked out, giving him a convincing glare. "Oh good, you're both still alive." Orochimaru said happily. "Now come," he said urgently and turned away from them both. As he did so the two teenagers looked at each other, wondering what was going on. "I am selling you today, Miho-kun." Miho's heart stopped and Sasuke, who was directly behind Orochimaru, looked back to her and both shared a moment of hidden terror; Akatsuki were coming now?

"They are coming for me now?" Miho said and she knew she should be strong, she told Sasuke she'd be alright but a part of her was scared. In fact, she had never been so scared in her life.

"Yes." Kabuto answered her and they all kept walking in single file. "One thing, Sasuke," Kabuto said from the front, "it is your brother that is coming to collect her." The air around Sasuke turned ice cold, so much so that Miho actually shivered behind him.

"Orochimaru." A voice said from behind the whole group. "We decided to use the back door." Everyone stopped. Miho, at the back, closest to the enemy, turned slowly on the spot. She stood, frozen as though paralyzed with fear as she saw her old teacher stood so casually in the corridor with them. Behind him was the man who had spoken, the man who looked like a shark, whose razor sharp teeth gnashed when she looked at him. Orochimaru and Kabuto turned around with welcoming smiles.

"Kisame!" Orochimaru said and walked past Miho who was still stood, open-mouthed at Itachi who had not looked up, nor registered her presence. Sasuke remained with his back to them. "Itachi!" For some reason Orochimaru stood protectively in front of Miho, who had to peer around him to see her buyers. "I trust everything I have asked for has been done?"

"It has." Itachi said and upon the sound of his voice Sasuke's sparks of chakra issued from his fingertips and the boy had to clasp his hands in front of him and focus on retaining his anger. "The girl?" Itachi nodded to Miho who jumped. Orochimaru stepped aside to reveal her to Itachi. Kisame and Itachi looked Miho up and down as though they had indeed just bought her and nodded at Orochimaru; she was in good condition. As Kisame retrieved a white rope that looked like a noose, Miho moved backwards slowly and bumped into Sasuke.

"I will find you." Sasuke whispered and Miho could hear in his voice the anger that held him with such a vice-like grip, "I will save you." She closed her eyes and took a deep breath; she had to find out Akatsuki's plans. They were after Naruto; she could do this for him. Orochimaru held out a hand to her.

"Come along, Miho-kun." Orochimaru hissed and Miho looked up at him with fearful eyes. "It's been nice knowing you." She took his hand, not really knowing what else to do and as she walked by him, Orochimaru hissed into her ear. "You are about to become the greatest weapon any man or ninja has ever known." She looked down, not knowing what to say to this and before she had time to react, Kisame through the noose around her neck and tightened it. It did not choke her but the pearly-white chain hung comfortably on her flesh. It did hurt, however, when he yanked the chain to ensure it was working, causing her to jerk forwards. As soon as this happened, Itachi put a hand on the robe and with a simple look, Kisame handed the chain to him.

"Farewell, brother." Itachi said to Sasuke and did not look at Miho at all but turned around and began to walk away, pulling Miho with him. She turned her head to her shoulder and caught sight of Sasuke turning to look at her. Those beautiful, dark eyes stared at her so adamantly they could only say one thing; _I will save you.

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**I'm pretty much gonna try and update a lot before I go so expect new chapters soon (I hope).**

**Reviews are so darn delicious. **


	11. Chapter 11

**Alright, I'm leaving on Tuesday so may manage to get one more update after this one!

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Miho was growing tired of walking. They had been walking for hours, maybe it had even been days, she wasn't sure anymore. All she knew was that she was tired and a growing sense of dread was beginning to fill her. She looked ahead to her old master that walked directly in front of her with his cloak swaying around him in the breeze. He had not talked to her, Kisame had been the one who was instructing her and Itachi had remained silent. He may look like Sasuke but they were so different. After her nights spent with Sasuke, strange thoughts were beginning to enter her head about Itachi. She wondered, if the murders never happened, if she had grown up around Itachi…which brother would she have fallen for?

Sometimes, when she had been training in Team 7, she would remember how commanding he had been when teaching her. There was something so powerful, so arrogant, so devilish inside of him that when she was a young teenager, when Sasuke was a jerk, she would fantasize about her old teacher finding her and taking her away with him. She shook her head and stopped looking at Itachi; she couldn't be having these thoughts. She should be focusing on the tasks ahead, on seeking out information regarding Akatsuki's plans and was Itachi's hair always that long? Ah, damnit, she cursed herself; she couldn't think straight with him around. It was just because she was tired, that's all it was. She was having these stupid thoughts because she needed sleep. Itachi yanking on the chain around her neck, every time she slowed down, kept her awake. What was with this chain anyway? It's not like she belonged to him or anythi-

"Ah," Miho gasped, as she had not realized Itachi had stopped walking and walked right into him. He looked over his shoulder and down to her, her sleepy eyes blinked slowly back at him.

"We're here." He said and she nodded, she was getting a headache. They were in some sort of wood, as far as the eye could see there were trees of every kind scattered around this giant forest. Miho blinked again but was having difficulty keeping her eyes open.

"Itachi," Kisame said in a deep voice and when Itachi turned to him, the shark-man looked at Miho pointedly. Itachi suppressed a sigh and looked down to the girl. He caught her before she hit the ground.

* * *

She was trapped. That's all that was running through her mind when she woke up. She had nightmares of what they were planning to do to her. Torture her? Kill her? Control her? She was finding it difficult to breath in the impenetrable darkness as she opened her eyes and sat up in the bed. Her head hurt like hell; she must've collapsed outside the hideout. Brilliant, she couldn't even tell someone a proper location if she wanted to be rescued. How could she be so stupid? Why didn't she listen to Sasuke? He was trying to protect her, to save her, and she threw it back in his face by being willingly captured. No one was here to save her and the dread inside of her, the chilling sense of close-approaching death was choking her. As her eyes adjusted to the dim light given off by candles in the corner, she saw many doors and windows lining the walls. She could escape, she could try. She flung the sheet off her body and ran to the nearest door, it was locked. Her frustration built as she ran to windows and pounded against them. With each hit she grunted from the effort and was quickly becoming engulfed by a feeling of desperation. She couldn't do this. They were going to kill her.

Miho ran with such blinding rage that she didn't even realize she was screaming. In the corridors outside, as Akatsuki members listened to the horrifying calls that came from her room; her begging for release, to return to Orochimaru, even the deadliest of members shivered. They knew what was coming to her, coming so fast she wouldn't have time to escape. Inside the room Miho hurled her fists at windows and doors, hoping against the odds that they would break, that she could run, but none were giving in. Her screams turned to sobbing and she ran to the other side quickly and opened a door.

She was so surprised that it was not locked that her sobs stopped, she stopped and stared as Itachi stood in the darkness of the doorway. Her shallow, rapid breaths echoed in the room and they stared at each other until Miho threw herself at him. Itachi was ready for a fight but was shocked when Miho simply put her hands and head against his chest, gripped to the black material of his cloak and began crying quietly against him. For a moment he was paralyzed, he felt hot and uncomfortable as he felt her body shuddering against his own. Her tears dampened his cloak and he could feel them seep into his shirt underneath. He was looking down at her head, surprised by how much she had grown. After a reluctant minute he wrapped his arms around her.

Miho calmed down as she felt his deep breaths and she mirrored the rising and falling of his chest. Once her sobs had subsided and her tears had stopped flowing, she slowly moved her head up to look at him. He was caught off guard by the lightness of her eyes, as were many people when they first saw her but there was something else, a warmth, a deepness he had not felt in so long, that made him remember what it was like. What loving someone felt like. They had never been so close before in their lives, Miho had never hugged Itachi before and he was equally enveloped in this strange sensation that seeped from them. When the girl remembered that he was her enemy, she dropped her hands from his chest and waited for him to release her from the embrace. He obliged and almost felt annoyed when he had to let her go. She walked backwards, away from him and turned away from him.

"I will be watching over you." He said coldly and Miho nodded, wiping her eyes as she did so.

"You will stay while I sleep?" She asked.

"Yes." Itachi confirmed her fears and began to remove his cloak. As he undid the buttons, Miho's bottom lip began to tremble.

"You will not save me?" She whispered and Itachi placed his cloak on a chair.

"No." She turned to him sharply.

"You will let me die?"

"Yes." He sat down on the chair and waited as Miho sat down on the bed and looked around her, still fighting the desire to kill him.

"You are just going to sit and watch…the whole night?" She asked timidly and brought her feet up onto the bed and brought her knees to her chest.

"Yes." And that was the end of their conversation. For ten minutes they simply sat, not looking at each other. Miho did not want to sleep and Itachi did not care what she wanted to do. They merely reflected on their own misery and Miho could not take the feeling of drowning in this hellhole.

"Lay with me." Miho said suddenly and Itachi looked up to her. She was staring straight at him and was completely serious.

"What?" Maybe he had misheard, or at least misunderstood.

"I won't sleep alone in this place-"

"I'm sat right here." He assured her but Miho shook her head.

"Lay with me." She repeated and Itachi tried to think of some excuse, he could think of none and so stood up and walked to the bed. The girl moved to lie down and as she did, the man looked her up and down slowly before cursing in his head; how could he possibly look at her like that? He must be four, five years older than her? "Six years." Miho said, reading his mind, "there is a six year difference between us." She said as he sat on the bed next to her. "What does it matter, when you are simply protecting me?" He nodded and lay down. Miho almost smiled when she realized how stiff and straight he was when he lay beside her; was a part of him nervous? "I suppose asking for your help is worthless?" She thought she'd try again and Itachi rolled onto his side to look at her. Miho gulped; his face was a mere few inches from hers and she could almost feel the fabric of his clothes against her arm.

"It is worthless." He whispered and noticed Miho was taking deeper breaths than before, her hands gripped onto the bed sheets and it was in that moment that he realized something. He realized that she was no longer the little girl who he had cared for, taught and made friends with but she was now a very beautiful, skilled shinobi who could probably kill at least three of the Akatsuki members he knew. And it was that intense fire inside of her that he wanted to touch. He moved his hand to her face and stroked her cheek, admiring the way her flesh burned pink beneath his touch. He moved in closer.

"Are you going to kiss me?" She whispered, not taking her eyes off his lips.

"Yes." He whispered back. "Are you scared?"

"Terrified." She replied and he smiled before tilting her chin towards him closing the gap between their lips and kissing his student.

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**Is that a bit weird? Be honest guys because I can carry on in a less of a, _this-is-kind-of-incest-but-not,_ way.**

**Review and tell me your thoughts. **


	12. Chapter 12

**I'm home!

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**Miho was sat upright, staring into nothingness, a blank look adorned her face as her glazed eyes kept still. She felt numb, like something inside of her, the fire that kept her going, was gone. Extinguished by this one encounter with her old teacher and as she thought back to the night that had passed…she almost felt physically sickened by what had happened. At first she had resisted, squirmed, burned beneath his body but after mere moments her shouts for release turned into shuddering whispers for it not to stop. She closed her eyes tightly as this thought came back to her; she wanted to forget it, to punish herself somehow because she deserved nothing. Miho tried very hard not to scream as the feeling of disgust began to sink in. She had tried to think of Sasuke, she had! She had. But she couldn't resist him…his eyes were like Sasuke's, his hair was exactly that darkened shade. No! She shook her head; how could she possibly think these things? Sasuke is everything, Itachi means nothing to her. At least she was thinking of Sasuke when she…argh, she ran her hands through her hair and pulled at it roughly as though trying to rid her of this guilt.

How could she put it so she was innocent? She didn't let Itachi hold her hand, would Sasuke understand that? She didn't let Itachi stroke her hair, the same way Sasuke did. Itachi was never loving, never kind, but he was….rough, torturing almost in the way he pulled roughly at her hair, the way his fingernails scratched against her back. The girl's face screwed up with the pain of grief and betrayal and hot tears seeped from her eyes. She stopped sobbing suddenly as she felt those same fingernails scrape their way up her back again and his hand grip her neck tightly. Miho closed her eyes as he moved the hair away from her neck and she winced as he gently sunk her teeth into her neck.

Itachi enjoyed the way she was so scared of him. He found it strangely seductive, the way she would shudder when he touched her, the way her breath deepened when he came close and that moment in which she finally embraced him. Itachi found that the best way to evoke this response was to kiss and bite her neck. She hated it; she writhed and closed her eyes and bit her lips while trying to push him away. Miho was surprised when he pulled away quickly and held her face in his hands to keep hair out of her eyes. Miho, who had tried to avoid his eyes, finally looked up to them and saw that this was the place you could find the most difference between the two brothers. Although Sasuke's eyes, whether he were using Sharingan or not, held contempt, a hard, jagged outline that showed his hate…there was also an innocence inside of him. The deeper you looked into Sasuke's dark eyes, the more you could see, or perhaps sense, the pure and virtuous Sasuke that once existed. But with Itachi there was nothing. His eyes were blank, empty and cold. There was no chance for redemption, there was no love deep within him and it was here you could see that Sasuke could be saved and that Itachi was damned.

As Miho looked into those blood red, patterned eyes, there was something else; he was curious, some thought had entered his head about her and Miho didn't really care what he had to say. He stroked her face and Miho flinched, it was one of the only ways he caused her pain, no other way. Not once, during that night had he caused her any pain. And it was this that stirred his curiosity. His hands dropped from her face and she turned away, he sat beside her and stared in a similar direction.

"You're not a virgin." Itachi said bluntly and Miho turned to him slowly. She actually laughed.

"Were you?" She asked and shook her head with a sick smile.

"Who was it?" Itachi ran a hand through his silky, dark hair that had come loose at some point in the night. There was a pause.

"You have to ask?" Was all Miho said and Itachi glanced over to her quickly.

"Sasuke." He said the name in that smooth, slick voice he had and Miho tried not to break down as she remembered him. "He loves you?" Miho nodded and bit her lip, hoping that pain would distract her. "He loved you since he first saw you." Itachi spoke slightly bitterly.

"And you?" Miho snapped and looked to him sharply. "You can't love me," she said when he said nothing, "look at me!" She shouted but was not satisfied when he simply looked at her with those empty eyes. "After all those years of being close to me?" She reminded him, "after I looked up to you as a teacher? You're just going to use me like this and then send me to my death?" He moved quickly to grab her hair and pull her down onto the bed. Miho called out and her eyes watered from the pain. He came close to her and hissed in her ear.

"I love no one." Miho whimpered as his grip intensified on her hair. "You," a slender finger stroked the exposed flesh of her neck, "are strange to me." His eyes skimmed over her face. "I like making you scream." He murmured, "I like the way you resist and then give in to your desires-"

"I have no desire for you." Was she lying? Even she couldn't tell anymore.

"If I could save you," he said suddenly, in an almost caring voice, "I would."

"Don't lie." Miho whispered scathingly, "what's the point in lying?"

"If it weren't for what you are, what your bloodline is, how powerful you are, how…useful you are to the world." He sighed, "I would save you."

"All my life I thought I never meant much to anyone." Miho murmured, "I lost my way, so did Sasuke. Once we thought we had everything; each other, a family, a future." Itachi said nothing but stared at her glassy eyes, trying to understand what she was saying. "But we can remember, who we were, how things used to be. No one gave up on us. We have a chance to go back to how things were." She looked at his eyes once more and, despite himself, Itachi flinched as he sensed her anger and sorrow, "I will save him. It is you who cannot be saved." She looked away as Itachi laughed above her.

"Such naivety," he breathed to her. "You were always so angelic," he stroked her cheek, "and now you're going to be used for destruction." Miho pushed his hand away.

"How?" She pleaded with him. "At least grant me that." Itachi sat up and reached over for his shirt. He pulled it on.

"You'll find out in an hour." He said and turned to her. "Get changed," he indicated clothes placed on the table. Miho did not watch as he walked away from her but at the door he turned to her. "I'm sorry." He said quietly and when he shut the door.

* * *

_-Konoha-  
_

"This is ridiculous! Miho was taken, we should be looking for her!" Naruto protested. Team 7, Jiraiya, Tsunade and Shizune were stood in the Hokage's office. After Miho's disappearance the team were called to decide what their next mission was to be. Sakura, Kakashi and Sai had agreed that waiting for further information was fine but Naruto wanted to take action. The blonde haired shinobi slammed a fist down on the Hokage's desk, making everyone jump. "Why are we just standing around!"

"Naruto," Jiraiya said quietly and it was this that made Naruto stop and think; Jiraiya was hardly ever serious with him. "Did it ever cross anyone's mind that she left of her own accord?" Team 7 looked around to each other with shocked expressions.

"Jiraiya," Kakashi stepped in, "this is Miho we're talking about-"

"She wanted revenge." Tsunade, who was turned away from the gathered people, looking out the window, spoke suddenly. "It's not the first time you've lost a student for this reason, Kakashi. We must assume she left herself, she was not taken-"

"That's not necessarily true." Jiraiya said.

"Explain yourself!" Tsunade snapped and turned back to the group.

"I suppose you have researched the bloodline of the Aomori clan?" He asked her and the Hokage nodded. "And we know what Akatsuki are doing-"

"Gathering Jinchuuriki!" Naruto shouted impatiently and even Tsunade was losing patience as she could not understand what Jiraiya was talking about. It was not until he gave her a knowing look that she made the link between the bloodline and the Jinchuuriki. Her eyes widened and Shizune quickly pulled back the chair at the desk so Tsunade could sit down. As the Hokage did so, Sakura stepped forwards.

"What?" She asked Tsunade and when she did not answer Sakura turned to Kakashi. "What's going on?" she asked him, for even Kakashi looked alarmed.

"To understand Akatsuki's plan, you must first understand Miho's bloodline limit jutsu." Jiraiya said and looked to Tsunade for confirmation that he could continue, the Hokage nodded and the lesson regarding the future death of Miho, began.

* * *

Itachi, as promised, knocked on Miho's door an hour later. She was sat beside her bed, thinking about when Sasuke would come for her, wondering if anyone in Konoha was missing her, somehow she doubted it. She had been too cruel in the last few weeks, for anyone to miss her, or even like her anymore. Itachi did not wait for her to answer but opened the door.

"Come on," he said sharply and she stood wearily, adjusted her shorts and walked towards him. Once she was by his side she looked across to him and noticed, beneath his cloak, the necklace she had made for him. She hadn't noticed it before and in that moment, as he walked away from her and she began to follow, she started to hope this was a sign she was wrong; perhaps he could be saved? She shook her head; he wasn't worth it. They walked through the corridors of the Akatsuki hideout and it was, if possible, even darker and drearier than Orochimaru's hideout. The corridors were long, narrow and she could hear the dripping of water nearby. She sensed someone behind her and turned around.

"Hello," Miho took a step away from him as he spoke. The face of the man was hidden; at least she doubted the orange swirl was not a face but a mask. It covered his face completely and the swirl's center left a hole over his right eye for him to see. He tilted his head to the right and Miho gulped; not being able to see a facial expression terrified her. "I'm Tobi." He said sweetly and Miho raised an eyebrow; he acted so differently from how she expected Akatsuki members to act.

"Miho," she said to him and found that she too was tilting her head. She stood up straight and adopted her usual look of skepticism when it came to these people. He leant closer to her and for some reason she wasn't afraid of him, there was a strange, carefree nature about him that put her at ease. His face came very close to hers but she stood her ground.

"Pretty." He said to Itachi when he stood straight again. Itachi, who had not turned to Tobi, looked over his shoulder.

"Leave us alone." Tobi was going to say something else but when those patterned eyes flashed dangerously at him, he thought twice. Miho thought she heard a giggle and her mouth opened slightly in surprise; this guy was weird.

"Going to the meeting?" Tobi said, ignoring Itachi's instruction. The Uchiha nodded.

"Me too!" He said happily, "let's walk together, Miho!" He said to her and went to stand by his side. She simply stood there and stared at him until Itachi began to move again, Miho averted her eyes from Tobi and continued to walk behind her old master. All the while, even though she could not see his eyes, she could feel Tobi's hungry gaze on her and it was the most unnerving feeling she had ever had. They entered a hall through an archway, it was lit by hundreds, maybe even thousands of candles that littered the walls, all dripping creamy wax onto the wooden floor. In the middle of the hall was a table, round, with ten chairs around it. There were already six people present but they weren't actually present. Miho looked around Itachi to see the figures, you could call them holograms of a people, rainbow in colour and almost transparent. As she looked at them with curiosity, they gave her the same look. So this was the girl that was to become Saidai Buki _(A/N: ultimate weapon). _She didn't look very powerful.

"Kisame?" Itachi called and out of the shadows, Miho saw the shark-man come forwards and sit in an empty seat. Tobi walked past Miho and sit down too, moments after this Deidara, the blonde haired member that had kidnapped Gaara, entered the room and sat by Tobi after casting a quick glance at Miho. Itachi remained by her side and addressed the gathered members in front of them. Miho tried as hard as she could to study their faces, to figure out their identities. "It's time," her old teacher began, "to demonstrate your bloodline," Itachi looked over to Miho who stared back. From the table, Itachi picked up a glass, she could see it was full of water and before she had time to blink he threw the water at her. She shielded her face with her arms and a moment after she brought them down she was alarmed to find Itachi had come close to her. She was even more alarmed to feel the blade of a shuriken in her flesh. **

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Yeah so this was a chapter that was just getting you ready for the explanation of EVERYTHING. And it's so complicated so I apologise. I've been putting it off for a long time, can you tell? I've been like, "they will use her…but I'll tell you later." XP I was going to include the explanation but this chapter is long enough. I hope you liked it because it took me a while to get back into the whole writing thing. Been abroad for three weeks-ish. I talk too much,**

** Review it…**

** …REVIEW IT NOW.**


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